Repairing the Problem with America's Transportation System
There is a serious problem with our nation's roads and highways. I find myself repeatedly avoiding trips to the city for this very reason, as I'm sure many others do as well. This nerve-wracking congestion is even beginning to find its way into the suburbs and surrounding areas of large cities. It is a serious problem that affects everyone who owns an automobile, as well as, businesses that are dependent on reliable and convenient transportation. To top it all off, this problem is getting worse every year. The population of this nation is growing, which translates to an increase in cars on the road. More people are moving to cities and the suburbs that surround them, creating gridlocks everywhere.
No matter what any politician in Washington or employee of the Federal Highway Administration may say, there is a serious and immediate problem with our nation's transportation systems. The Texas Transportation Institute has recently done several studies that have produced some very alarming results. For example, the average American spends approximately 26 hours a year stuck in traffic. Let?s think about that. The ?average? American spends this long cruising at five miles per hour and cursing at other cars around. By saying average, the study means this figure also takes into account people living in rural areas who spend maybe one hour a year stuck in traffic. That means for the majority of us, in the Phoenix area and other large cities, we spend 3 or 4 times more wasting our valuable time in traffic. For people who drive into the city everyday for work, it might even be worse (Fay 3). Now that?s a lot of time if you ask me.
To make matters worse...
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Works Cited
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Since the beginning of the United States the American people have been on the move. Public transportation has played a major role in the development of this nation and in bringing its citizens together. In the book “Divided Highways”, author Tom Lewis takes the reader on a journey of the building of the Interstates and the consequences(good and bad) that came from them. Lewis believes that the Interstates are a physical characteristic of America and that it shows “all our glory and our meanness; all our vision and our shortsightedness”(xiv).
ISTEA Sec. 1033 (1991) authorized the allocation of national highway system funds as well as federal land highway funds to support the construction of bicycle and walking paths adjacent to highway systems and refurbishing bridges for pedestrian use, up to 80 percent of total cost (“Intermodal Surface Transportation”,1991). At the conclusion of the 6 year scope, ISTEAs impact was viewed as minimal, at best. Dilger (2003) cites a lack of public interest by the American people as the catalyst for the “failure”. Americans would much rather drive to their destination as opposed to riding a bicycle or walking (p. 60).
It was stated that whether or not people help depends on a series of interconnected events and decisions. They must first notice what’s happening, understand that it is an emergency and accept personal responsibility. When this fails to happen that is called the bystander effect (Carpenter & Huffman, 2008, p. 422).
Latane and Darley (1968) investigated the phenomenon known as the bystander effect and staged an emergency situation where smoke was pumped into the room participants was in. Results showed that 75% of participants who were alone reported the smoke, whereas only 38% of participants working in groups of three reported (Latane & Darley, 1968). Their findings provide evidence for the negative consequence of the diffusion of responsibility. In line with the social influence principle, bystanders depend on reactions of others to perceive a situation as an emergency and are subsequently less likely to help. Latane and Darley’s findings were also supported in recent research: Garcia and colleagues (2002) found that even priming a social context by asking participants to imagine themselves in a group could decrease helping behaviour. It can be contended that these findings are examples of social proof where individuals believe actions of the group is correct for the situation, or examples of pluralistic ignorance where individuals outwardly conform because they incorrectly assumed that a group had accepted the norm (Baumeister & Bushman,
Early Soviet nuclear physics in the 1920s and 1930s enjoyed success in many fields. David Holloway states, “In spite of the difficulties it faced, Soviet nuclear physics reached a high standard in the 1930s.” 1 Physicists such as Abram Ioffe, who studied under Röntgen, Igor Kurchatov, Kirill Sinel’nikov, and others were prominent and capable scientists who advocated and build many of the institutions in the new Soviet Union to support scientific research. Ioffe’s Physicotechnical Institute was one of these institutes. The Soviets did not actually lack from talented and intelligent physicists in the early years of scientific research...
In a study done by both Bibb Latane and John Darley, they measured the amount of time it took individuals to respond and act in a given situation based on the number of people present in the room (Bystander). They found that when individuals were in rooms by themselves and smoke filled the room, there was a 75 percent chance of the person reporting the smoke (Bystander). Whereas, when people were placed in rooms which contained other participants there was only a 38 percent chance of the people reporting the incident (Bystander). This unfortunately is not the only study which comes to a similar conclusion. A social experiment done by teenagers at a local high school shows the same thing. The students went around the school and asked their classmates and teachers if they would help a student that was found passed out in the halls (YouTube). All of those who were interviewed said yes they would. When this situation was tested, it proved the students to be liars. Over 70 (if not more) students walked over the body of the passed out girl (YouTube). Some even took pictures and laughed (YouTube). No one helped the girl because they all believed that it was not their job due to the presence of others. Looking at everyday life it is easy to see how the bystander effect can not only be applied to big situations such as the ones listed above, but also, to small ones. Such as, walking down a hall and walking by a piece if trash someone dropped. Most people (if not all) will continue walking and refuse to pick up the trash because it was not their doing. Perhaps this is a contributing factor to the fact that many people go without help in emergency
Besides assertive communication, the nurse should take a collaborative approach to conflict management. Both strategies empower individuals to work together and accomplish goals successfully (Cherry & Jacob, 2011). Considering the healthcare community is composed of such a large and diverse population, a nurse must realize that conflicts will arise, but more importantly the nurse must effectively manage those conflicts. Having an understanding of the differences which exists between varied cultures, generations, and disciplines will guide the nurse in resolving conflicts. This foundation allows the nurse to better understand how people perceive and respond to others and the environment during a time which resolution is needed. Establishing trust with ones colleagues is another step toward resolving conflicts. Team members are much more likely to be open and motivated to come to a resolution when they trus...
As the 47th governor of Texas, he has and continues to put into motion many new acts and laws that have created a more prosperous Texas. A more prosperous Texas includes the creation of more jobs, a fair legal system, and more adept schools as well as low taxes for citizens and accordingly, low state government spending. These tough economic practices have also been proven through national statistics. According to many s...
Bystander effect refers to the instance in which there is an emergency and people witnessing don’t respond when there are others around witnessing the same event. This happens because of pluralistic ignorance which is when people assume that there is nothing wrong because others surrounding them don’t look concerned. Two researchers, Latan and Darley, conducted an experiment to further study the bystander effect. In this experiment, Latan and Darley took multiple college students and one at a time, put them into cubicles. In a cubicle next to them there would be a recording device producing noises emulating distress noises in the form of choking. Eighty five percent of the students went to help; this is not an alarming number. The surprising
Thesis statement: Research suggests that individuals with developmental disabilities require better access to adapted grief counseling because there is an increased risk of behavioral and emotional disturbances, they have a smaller support network, and their caregivers assume that they don 't understand loss.
3. 6 "Local Control Archives." TexasVox: 5 The Voice of Public Citizen in Texas. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May
... (1968). Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 8, 377-383.
Darley, J. M. & Latané, B. (1968) Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 8, 377–383
The development of every nation hinges on the effectiveness of their transportation systems. Movement of goods, services and people to and from locations is made possible by transportation systems. The importance of effective transportation systems cannot be over-emphasized. Many countries face transportation problems and my country Ghana is no exception. A trip of about 30 minutes usually takes about an hour or more due to traffic jams. This is seriously impacting productivity and has become a topical issue in the country. The situation is the same in Uganda where I currently work. To this end, Transportation Engineers are needed to design roads/ highways that will stand the test of time, plan effective traffic management systems to reduce