Drs David Marshall and Paul Rosin in collaboration with Dr Simon Moore of Cardiff's Dental School presented a paper at theÊInternational Crime Science Conference , London, July 17-18 (www.crimescience.org) on "Exploring the effect of alcohol on simulated crown dynamics and violence using a particle model" The paper has received the attention of the UK national and international press. New Scientist (July 24th Issue) featured an article on this work (technology.newscientist.com/article/mg19926664.800-designing- streets-to-help-drunks-home.html?DCMP=ILC-hmts&nsref= news1_head_mg19926664.800) and as did Êthe July 24th edition of the Metro newspaper. Scottish and Australian Sunday newspapers will also run articles on this work in coming weeks.
The work is also scheduled to be published in the Journal of Aggression and Violent Behavior, with a paper entitled "A Particle Model of Crowd Behavior: Exploring the Relationship between Alcohol, Crowd Dynamics and Violence", very shortly. The research considered how the staggering gait and loss of balance associated with being drunk would affect a model based on the behaviour of sober crowds. Models have been widely used to predict how crowds will behave, for example, during the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, to improve crowd control. This is the first time a model has looked at crowds of drunken people.