114612 research outputs found
Sort by
VRSTNN : visual-relational spatio-temporal neural network for early hazardous event detection in automated driving systems
Get PDFReliable and early detection of hazardous events is vital for the safe deployment of automated driving systems. Yet, it remains challenging as road environments can be highly complex and dynamic. State-of-the-art solutions utilise neural networks to learn visual features and temporal patterns from collision videos. However, in this paper, we show how visual features alone may not provide the essential context needed to detect early warning patterns. To address these limitations, we first propose an input encoding that captures the context of the scene. This is achieved by formulating a scene as a graph to provide a framework to represent the arrangement, relationships and behaviours of each road user. We then process the graphs using graph neural networks to identify scene context from: 1) the collective behaviour of nearby road users based on their relationships and 2) local node features that describe individual behaviour. We then propose a novel visual-relational spatiotemporal neural network (VRSTNN) that leverages multi-modal processing to understand scene context and fuse it with the visual characteristics of the scene for more reliable and early hazard detection. Our results show that our VRSTNN outperforms stateof- the-art models in terms of accuracy, F1 and false negative rate on a real and synthetic benchmark dataset: DOTA and GTAC
Enhancing life cycle product design decision-making processes : insights from normal accident theory and the satisficing framework
Get PDFLife Cycle Assessment (LCA), a computational tool for enabling sustainable product design decision making, faces challenges in the interpretation phase, where conclusions are drawn for improvement recommendations. This necessitate the need to incorporate into LCA management-relevant theoretical underpinnings to strengthen decision-making processes. Comparative LCA case studies of lead-based piezoelectric material (lead zirconate titanate – PZT) and lead-free alternatives (potassium sodium niobate – KNN, sodium bismuth titanate – NBT), was employed to demonstrate how two theoretical lenses, namely Normal Accident Theory (NAT) and the Satisficing Framework, are used inductively to enhance decision making regarding unintended consequences in the value chain. By operationalising NAT, which has hitherto focused on the consequences of physical accidents, as a life cycle engineering-based methodology, NAT attributes of interactive complexity and tight coupling was revealed in piezoelectric materials, based on environmental systems’ predictability, observability, and applicability. This led to the introduction of Environmental Impact Accident (EIA) as a new concept, facilitating an early assessment of the associated complexities influencing the sustainability credentials of piezoelectric materials whilst informing mitigation strategies. However, when considering multiple objectives that conflict or trade-off between alternative piezoelectric materials with different environmental and health impacts across the value chain, a conundrum is created but resolved using the Satisficing Framework. The paper concludes by proposing theoretical and practical policy options for incorporating LCA into product life cycle decision making
A mixed-methods study of women’s birthplace preferences and decisions in England
Get PDFProblem
Choice has been a key aspect of maternity care policy in England since 1993, however a gap remains between the birthplaces women want and where they actually give birth.
Background:
The latest maternity care policy in England acknowledges that women are not being given ‘real choice’ in their care and often being told what to do. This is problematic since unfulfilled preferences have been linked to negative childbirth experiences.
Aim:
To understand the factors affecting women’s birthplace preferences and decisions, and why these might differ.
Methods:
A sequential mixed-methods study consisting of an online questionnaire (n=49) and follow-up interviews (n=14) with women who were either currently pregnant or had recently given birth in a metropolitan region in England.
Findings:
Most women in this study said that they would prefer to give birth in an alongside maternity unit because it offered a compromise between the risk of poor outcomes and risk of unnecessary medicalisation. However, the majority of women’s preferences were medicalised at the point of decision-making as the minimisation of clinical risk was ultimately prioritised.
Discussion:
Women’s preference for the alongside maternity unit demonstrates the growing popularity for this less medicalised, ‘alternative’ birthplace option. However pre-existing conditions, reproductive histories and experiential knowledge influence women’s decision to give birth in the labour ward and suggests that minimising clinical risk is women’s key priority.
Conclusion:
Women navigate complex and competing discourses when forming childbirth preferences and making decisions, selectively considering different risks and knowledges to make the decisions right for them
A deadly weapon aimed at our hearts : the scope and composition of Lord Scarman's 1981 public inquiry
No full textState-led inquiries have been prominently positioned within British political and social cultures, seemingly popular with its citizens. They are often tactically utilized to depoliticize issues and provide the appearance that ministers share public concern, arguably acting as a political device to maintain the state through apparent declarations of unfailing commitment to ‘accountability’ and ‘legitimacy’. Lord Scarman’s 1981 inquiry into anti-police uprisings, portrayed by the State as violence belonging in ‘less-civilised countries’, provoked opposition to its unrepresentative membership and narrow focus. Some local groups, such as the Brixton Defence Campaign, viewed Scarman’s inquiry as the state’s attempt to legitimize characterizations of the ‘riots’ as ‘blameless forces of law and order [battling] black criminals’. Characterizations of the uprisings as simply ‘irrational’ criminality attempted to remove legitimacy from actions by politically marginalized Black Britons, previously denied access to processes more widely defined to be ‘legitimate’. Throughout, this article highlights the colonial legacies of inquiries, through their aims, operation, and membership. Scarman also refused to investigate accusations of police misconduct, which depict a different situation than accepted narratives, demonstrating the state’s influence on knowledge production and suggesting the potential for such records to reveal violence conducted in the name of the state. By marginalizing certain voices and limiting the inquiry’s scope, the uprisings were characterized as simply a ‘crisis’ of law and order. This aspect of discussion adds to recent debates on the use of the concepts of ‘’militarisation’ and ‘martial politics’, demonstrating practices that reproduce violence in the name of liberal governance
Fast exact simulation of the first passage of a tempered stable subordinator across a non-increasing function
Get PDFSeeking supervisability : the inclusivity implications of doctoral supervisors’ engagement with prospective applicants prior to formal admissions
No full textIn doctoral admissions research, a neglected stage is the informal phase which precedes the submission of a formal application, and which involves the circulation of various communications about admissions; we term this stage ‘pre-application doctoral communications’ (PADC). Due to the informality of PADC, there are inclusivity concerns about the potential for prospective applicants to be screened out of even applying for doctoral education. Supervisors are major actors in the PADC stage. This paper illuminates supervisors’ hidden, informal practices within PADC. It redeploys Julie Posselt’s work on doctoral admissions committees to conceptualise supervisors’ decision-making processes in PADC. The paper draws on an in-depth institutional case study of a research-intensive UK-based university. This paper focuses specifically on the supervisor participants, where 19 supervisors participated in a six-week solicited diary process, followed by focus group discussions with 11 supervisors. Findings show that supervisors are caught between their principles and values and squeeze conditions which impede inclusivity efforts. The paper argues that supervisors’ actions and reactions are produced by and across social, institutional, and personal factors. The paper concludes that formalising PADC may not be ideal or even possible, yet there is scope for improving systems for managing PADC and awareness of inclusivity issues
