Ethics and fundamental principles of risk acceptance criteria

Ethics are concerned with distinguishing between what actions are “right” and “wrong” and what values are “good” and “bad”, etc. and there is a long academic tradition in discussing ethics and ethical theories. Risk acceptance criteria, on the other hand, distinguish between levels of risks that are acceptable and levels that are intolerable. In some sense, one may say that risk acceptance criteria distinguishes between “good” and “bad” systems and activities with regards to the risk they expose the society or elements of a society to and there is thus an obvious link between ethics and risk acceptance criteria or to risk management at large. However, there are few references in the literature that explores this link, and in this paper, the ethical foundation of fundamental principles of risk acceptance criteria will be elaborated upon.This paper considers some important principles for establishing risk acceptance criteria for safety critical systems and activities. The various principles and the philosophies behind them might at first sight seem contradictory and exclusive, but it is demonstrated how they may coexist in one and the same regulatory regime; They may complement each other in order to achieve the overall safety objectives of society. Then, some brief considerations of the ethical foundations for the principles will be given and some relevant examples of actual risk acceptance criteria will be given from the maritime industries. However, it is believed that the principles and discussions are of general interest and apply to all areas of technical risk and to safety regulations in a broader perspective.     

Exploring relationships between observed activation rates and functional attributes of lane departure prevention

Objective: Drivers’ use of lane departure warning and prevention systems is lower than use of other crash avoidance technologies and varies significantly by manufacturer. One factor that may affect use is how well a system prevents unintended departures. The current study evaluated the performance of systems that assist in preventing departures by providing steering or braking input in a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu, 2016 Ford Fusion, 2016 Honda Accord, and 2018 Volvo S90. These vehicles were selected because a prior observational study found that the percentage of privately owned vehicles that had lane departure prevention systems turned on varied among these 4 automakers.

Method: In each vehicle, a test driver induced 40 lane drifts on left and right curves by steering the vehicle straight into the curve so that vehicles departed in the opposite direction and 40 lane drifts on straightaways by slight steering input to direct the vehicle to left and right lane markers.

Results: Vehicles from automakers with higher observed lane departure prevention use rates (Volvo, Chevrolet) featured systems that provided steering input earlier and more often avoided crossing lane markers by more than 35?cm compared to vehicles from automakers with lower observed use rates (Ford, Honda).

Conclusion: The study identified functional characteristics (i.e., timing of steering input, prevention of departures more than 35?cm) of lane departure prevention systems that were strongly associated with observed activation of these systems in privately owned vehicles. Although this relationship does not imply causation, the findings support the hypothesis that functional characteristics of lane departure prevention systems affect their use. Designers may be able to use these results to maximize driver acceptance of future implementations of lane departure prevention.     

碰撞剪切流动中波速对自激振荡射流频率的影响

在许多工程应用中都需了解流体的自激振荡特性 ,而其振荡频率与压力波传播速度密切相关。笔者从理论上分析了自激振荡射流中碰撞剪切流动压力扰动波的传播速度及其对射流振荡频率的影响规律 ,结果表明 :波速随着流体中气体含量的增加而急剧减小 ,随压力的增大而增大。波速减小使得射流的振荡频率也减小 ,实验结果与理论分析一致     

环境监测实验室重要试剂及耗材的质量验收方法

阐述了对环境监测实验室重要试剂及消耗性材料进行质量验收的必要性,以实验用水、过硫酸钾、活性炭采样管和滤膜等典型的试剂及消耗材料为例,介绍了常用的重要试剂及消耗性材料质量验收的程序、范围、方法、要求与结果讨论.     

建设项目竣工验收监测难点问题解析

分析了建设项目竣工环境保护验收监测工作中存在的审核、环评批复、复测管理、建设单位配合、监测技术和监测管理等问题及原因,提出了加强相关法律法规学习宣传、建立完善验收监测制度与程序、强化质量控制管理等解决办法及建议.