Barely four months after the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly was ended, Manitoba grain farmers are reaping big dividends.
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The drunk driving case rests heavily upon the subjective opinions of the arresting officer — the abilities of that officer to correctly assess DUI symptoms of intoxication: observations of driving, personal symptoms (slurred speech, flushed face, etc.), answers to questions, performance on field sobriety tests.
Just how expert is the average police officer at judging levels of intoxication in a DUI case?
To answer this question, researchers at Rutger University's Alcohol Behavior Research Laboratory conducted a series of experiments. For purposes of comparison with officers, two groups of non-police witnesses were first tested. In one, 49 lay social drinkers sat in a room as various subjects were brought in one at a time for observation and questioning. Each subject had either consumed varying amounts of alcohol or had consumed nothing; each had been given tests for blood-alcohol levels. Each in turn answered questions from the lay witnesses until all were finished, then got up and left. Each of the 49 witnesses was then asked to judge each subject's state of sobriety or intoxication.
The researchers' conclusion: "The assumption that social drinkers would prove to be accurate judges was not confirmed."
In the second group, 12 bartenders were tested in the setting of a large cocktail lounge. Again, the researchers found that "the bartenders correctly rated a target in only one of four instances".
The researchers then turned to 30 experienced DUI officers from various New Jersey law enforcement agencies. Separated into two groups, the first group of 15 officers were tested under laboratory conditions similar to those in the experiment involving lay social drinkers. The second group of 15 were tested under circumstances commonly encountered in a drunk driving traffic stop — at night, with the subject behind the wheel of a car, who is then asked to step out and conduct a series of DUI field sobriety tests. Results?
When police observers in the laboratory conditions were compared to social drinkers who had experienced an identical procedure, no difference in rating accuracy was found…Officers in the arrest analogue were somewhat more accurate than their colleagues in the laboratory condition but not significantly so.
The scientists concluded that "the results of the three experiments described here are not reassuring. All three of the subject groups studied — social drinkers, bartenders and police officers — correctly judged target levels of intoxication only 25 percent of the time." Langenbrucher and Nathan, "Psychology, Public Policy and the Evidence for Alcohol Intoxication", American Psychologist 1070 (Sept. 1983).
July is National Cell Phone Courtesy Month. Founded by author Jacqueline Whitmore in 2002, National Cell Phone Courtesy Month was designed to make cell phone users more polite about use of the devices. National Cell Phone Courtesy Month is intended to raise awareness about the importance of not yelling into cell phones in public and not using cell phones in inappropriate public areas. However, National Cell Phone Courtesy Month can also be used to raise awareness about the dangers of cell phones use.
Only eleven states currently do not have bans on cell phone use and texting while driving, and Florida is one of these states with no prohibitions about the use of cell phones behind the wheel. While legislators have tried to pass laws banning cell phone use by drivers in recent years, however, these bills have not passed into law. In 2011, Governor Rick Scott vetoed proposed legislation which would have mandated that the Florida Division of Motor Vehicles teach drivers about the dangers of distracted driving. Municipalities and communities also cannot pass their own distracted driving laws under current Florida laws. As a result, in Florida distracted driving is not legislated and it is up to individual drivers to make the right choice to drive undistracted.
There are studies which have concluded that driving distracted can lead to accidents in the same way that drinking and driving can lead to Hollywood drunk driving accidents. In fact, the response times for distracted drivers and drunk drivers is similar, according to researchers, which is one reason why distracted drivers are more at risk for a Hollywood car accident.
Despite the wide-spread media attention about the dangers of distracted driving and despite the research, many drivers continue to drive distracted. One possible reason is that many distractions have become so commonplace that many drivers do not see the danger. Many professionals are used to speaking on a cell phone all day, so they simply carry on using their mobile devices while in the car. Many cars currently made also include touch screens, mobile device docks, and other features which can pose a distraction. In addition, many cars include technology to allow hands-free talking and dialing, so that drivers can continue to use their cell phones without having to use their hands. Unfortunately, some studies have suggested that hands-free devices are also distracting and can also lead to Hollywood traffic accidents since they still take the driver’s attention from the road.
Since it is well documented that distracted driving is dangerous and since there are no laws in Florida to prevent it, fashioning distracted driving as an issue of polite driving may make sense. In many cases, distracted driving is dangerous because it can lead to a driver cutting someone off, for example. Preventing distracted driving not only ensures that drivers are more polite on the roads – which in itself could prevent Hollywood car crashes caused by road rage – but also ensures that all drivers and pedestrians stay safer.
Artifacts meaning anything from movies, advertising campaign, political speeches, books, etc. that would relate to communications: eloquence, gender communication, language identity, relational comm, etc.
I’m not sure I understand your objective. I’ve always understood artifacts as being the supporting materials in the creation of a media projects.
For an ad campaign, artifacts might include storyboards, props, scripts or copy summaries.
For a web site, artifacts would include sitemaps, task flowcharts, storyboards, wireframes and Photoshop comps.
Please clarify your request by giving an example.
A flood forecast issued Tuesday by the National Weather Service in the U.S. has confirmed what officials on this side of the border already knew: there’s a very good chance of a flood in the Red River valley this spring.
i’m doing a paper and can find plenty of information on TV advertising starting around the 60’s, but any type of information on campaigning and advertising that is non-TV related from earlier than that is hard to find. any help would be great. thanks.
I can tell you one great book. "What Happened" by Scott McClellan talks about how the office of the presidency turned into a constant campaign.
Parents around the country have celebrated their son or daughter’s graduations by giving money, clothes, watches and parties. Now, at the parties, in between streamers and gold balloons are toasts to determination and success and then the music starts. Has the party begun yet, or is it only when the underage guests arrive half blitzed or with six pack in hand? These parents learned the hard way that despite a zero tolerance message and trusting their child, things got out of hand. Somehow, someway teens get alcohol and then everyone gets either slammed or put in the slammer. Not a good outcome.
