More Like this

1. Developing Empathy Among Drivers to Improve Safety in Highway Construction Work Zones

   Valdés, D. (August 2023, XXII Conferencia Panamericana de Ingeniería y Logística de Tránsito y Transporte)

   Temporary traffic control (TTC) in highway work zones has significant implications and challenges in terms of safety for road users and workers. Work zone workers are increasingly concerned about the risks they face due to their proximity to live traffic on the road. Drivers tend to be less aware of the risks faced by workers in highway work zones. The public should develop empathy to increase awareness about the danger construction workers are exposed in highway work zones. The research objective was to use virtual reality (VR) with a role-playing situation with almost complete sensory immersion in a controlled environment and a driving simulator to investigate if exposing drivers to the work hazards that highway construction workers typically encounter influences their behaviour while driving through work zones. The study compared the driving behaviours in the simulator between subjects sensitized using VR to the subjects who were not sensitized using VR. The simulation included the use of a GPS device that instructed drivers to turn on a road that was blocked by the TTC of the work zone as a distraction strategy. The results indicate that participants exposed to VR made safer driving decisions than participants without the VR intervention. The results suggest that drivers' empathy towards highway construction workers in a work zone can positively impact safety, communication, and well-being. 

   more » « less
2. Assessing driver behavior in work zones: A discretized duration approach to predict speeding

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2023.107427  

   Thapa, Diwas; Mishra, Sabyasachee; Khattak, Asad; Adeel, Muhammad (March 2024, Accident Analysis & Prevention)
3. Alert modalities in connected and smart work zones to enhance workers’ safety from traffic accidents using virtual reality (VR) experiments

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trc.2025.105085  

   Sharma, Gajanand; Mishra, Sabyasachee (May 2025, Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies)
4. Attendance zones in the suburbs

   https://doi.org/10.1177/00317217231156224  

   Asson, Sarah; Frankenberg, Erica; Fowler, Christopher S.; Buck, Ruth Krebs (February 2023, Phi Delta Kappan)

   While suburban schools across the country have become increasingly racially and economically diverse in recent decades, many remain highly segregated. School attendance zone boundaries (AZBs) play a critical role in shaping these patterns of within-district segregation. AZBs are especially important in suburban areas with growing and diversifying student populations. Using novel, longitudinal AZB data dating back to 1990, authors Sarah Asson, Erica Frankenberg, Christopher Fowler, and Ruth Krebs Buck studied the relationship between AZBs and segregation over time in three large suburban districts. They found AZB changes have not yet been realized as a force for desegregation. To do so will require more explicit action prioritizing racial and economic diversity. 

   more » « less
5. Pyroxenite melting at subduction zones

   https://doi.org/10.1130/G50929.1  

   Bowman, Emilie E.; Ducea, Mihai N. (February 2023, Geology)

   Abstract Arc magmatism is thought to be driven by peridotite melting in the mantle wedge. Yet pyroxenites are ubiquitous in the melting region beneath magmatic arcs. Because they typically have lower solidi temperatures and higher melt productivities compared to peridotite, pyroxenites likely play a significant role in magma generation. Here, we use the Zn/Fe ratios of a global database of Pliocene–Holocene primitive arc magmas to show that, as the crustal thickness of the overlying plate increases, so does the proportion of pyroxenite-derived melts relative to peridotite-derived melts. In fact, at arcs with crustal thicknesses >40 km, the majority of magmas are sourced from pyroxenite. Major and trace element geochemistry of pyroxenite melts is consistent with derivation from mafic magmas frozen in the mantle en route to the surface. We hypothesize that, as the thickness of the continental crust increases, the mantle wedge is displaced toward higher pressures and cooler temperatures, thereby lowering the extent of peridotite melting and allowing magmas sourced from the pyroxeniteveined mantle to dominate the arc budget. 

   more » « less