Evaluating the effectiveness of Didi ride-hailing security measures: An integration model

Security is one of the most critical factors influencing individuals’ mobility. Ensuring security along ride-hailing trips is also a fundamental challenge to service providers. After two cases of rape and homicide, Didi has rectified measures again to meet passengers’ need for security. However, there are few scientific findings concerning the impact of Didi rectified measures on personal perception of security. This study aims to explore critical latent factors that affect individuals’ intentions to use or reuse ride-hailing after the rectification of security measures. This paper examines individuals’ usage intentions by integrating and expanding both the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Research results suggest that perceived security, security risk, and government credibility are correlated with the intentions to use or reuse ride-hailing. Importantly, perceived security and security risk both have a direct impact on behavioral intentions from a different perspective. In contrast, government credibility has an indirect effect. Hence, a mediating effect test is conducted. Government credibility could indirectly influence behavioral intention by affecting trust. Finally, this study verifies that the effectiveness of security measures could be evaluated and improved by studying the influence of latent factors on the intentions to use or reuse ride-hailing.     

The effectiveness of a computerized guidance system in promoting career decision making

The effectiveness of CHOICES in improving the career decision making of university students through the utilization of the two instruments, (a) the Career Decision Scale and (b) the Occupational Scale of the Assessment of Career Decision Making, is examined. This experimental research involved 136 university students who were assigned to either an experimental or control group. Results indicated that CHOICES improved career decision making as measured by both instruments. No differences were found between its effectiveness with males and females.     

The effectiveness of psychotherapeutic interventions for bereaved persons: a comprehensive quantitative review

Previous quantitative reviews of research on psychotherapeutic interventions for bereaved persons have yielded divergent findings and have not included many of the available controlled outcome studies. This meta-analysis summarizes results from 61 controlled studies to offer a more comprehensive integration of this literature. This review examined (a) the absolute effectiveness of bereavement interventions immediately following intervention and at follow-up assessments, (b) several of the clinically and theoretically relevant moderators of outcome, and (c) change over time among recipients of the interventions and individuals in no-intervention control groups. Overall, analyses showed that interventions had a small effect at posttreatment but no statistically significant benefit at follow-up. However, interventions that exclusively targeted grievers displaying marked difficulties adapting to loss had outcomes that compare favorably with psychotherapies for other difficulties. Other evidence suggested that the discouraging results for studies failing to screen for indications of distress could be attributed to a tendency among controls to improve naturally over time. The findings of the review underscore the importance of attending to the targeted population in the practice and study of psychotherapeutic interventions for bereaved persons.     

Politics and guidance: An overview of the South African school guidance service

The South African guidance service is an example of the way in which the population can be manipulated when a guidance service is used to serve the political and economic ends of a ruling group. The South African government views the guidance service as an 'auxiliary education service', the function of which is to ensure conformity to the official Christian National Education policy for White schools. 'Pedagogy' provides a theoretical explanation for deviance from Christian National norms, and thus is emphasised in the training of guidance personnel. The focus of the guidance service is upon the identification and reorientation of children who are 'different'. The overview presented here provides an example of the consequences of unquestioning compliance of a guidance service with the values and norms of the dominant culture. It is argued that all guidance services constantly need to make explicit, and to question, the cultural assumptions upon which they operate.     

Evaluating the effectiveness of employee assistance programmes: a systematic review

The rapid growth of employee assistance Programmes (EAPs) has not been matched by the accompanying research base of their efficacy. Given the inconsistent information relating to the effectiveness of EAPs in enhancing employee and organizational outcomes, the present review systematically appraised available evidence from organizational psychology and business databases and grey literature sources. A total of 17 studies examining the impact of EAPs, met the inclusion criteria. These were mostly from North America and utilized quantitative methodology and pre- and post-intervention designs. The majority of studies focused on EAPs offered by external providers and the counselling service, with the most common limitations being discrepancies in variable definitions and an absent comparable control group. Overall, this review found that utilizing EAPs enhanced employee outcomes, specifically improving levels of presenteeism and functioning. Absenteeism was most commonly investigated but produced mixed results. Presenteeism demonstrated a stronger effect size and greater improvement than absenteeism, suggesting presenteeism as a better variable for assessing EAP effectiveness. This review clarified parameters of existing evidence and highlighted the narrow range of measures used to date, omitting important constructs such as health and well-being and productivity. A broader evaluation capturing a wider range of variables is urgently needed.     

Feedback and its effectiveness in a computer-aided personalized system of instruction course

In a computer-managed version of Keller's personalized system of instruction, students received frequent feedback from more advanced students within the course. Overall accuracy of student-provided feedback was 87%, and students complied with 61% of the feedback.     

Evaluation of the attentional capacities and working memory of early and late blind persons

Although attentional processes and working memory seem to be significantly involved in the daily activities (particularly during navigating) of persons who are blind and who use these abilities to compensate for their lack of vision, few studies have investigated these mechanisms in this population. The aim of this study is to evaluate the selective, sustained and divided attention, attentional inhibition and switching and working memory of blind persons. Early blind, late blind and sighted participants completed neuropsychological tests that were designed or adapted to be achievable in the absence of vision. The results revealed that the early blind participants outperformed the sighted ones in selective, sustained and divided attention and working memory tests, and the late blind participants outperformed the sighted participants in selective, sustained and divided attention. However, no differences were found between the blind groups and the sighted group in the attentional inhibition and switching tests. Furthermore, no differences were found between the early and late blind participants in this set of tests. These results suggest that early and late blind persons can compensate for the lack of vision by an enhancement of the attentional and working memory capacities.     

Evaluating the effectiveness of a young driver-education intervention: Learn2Live

Road traffic collisions are the leading cause of death among young adults, and behaviour change interventions play a key role in battling this public health concern. Road safety interventions are often educational and have traditionally relied on fear appeals to alter risky driving behaviour - yet there is a paucity of data regarding their effectiveness. Peer-education has been championed as an additional route to promoting safe driving behaviour. To examine these issues, this study evaluated the effectiveness of a fear appeal intervention in improving young drivers’ attitudes towards risky driving behaviour. A total sample of 800 high school and college students (16–20 years old) completed a similar set of questionnaires pre- and post-intervention and at a 3-month follow-up. Two different types of follow-up interventions were also compared: a peer-led and an expert-led road safety educational event. Measures evaluating attitudes towards risky driving behaviour were completed at all 3 time frames, and questions regarding the participants' perception of the follow-up event were asked. Overall, our data showed an improvement in attitudes towards risky driving behaviours both immediately after the intervention and three months later. These changes were especially evident among females. With regard to the follow-ups, both were effective in improving the attitudes towards risky driving. However, the peer-led event was preferred by the participants compared to the expert-led follow-up.     

Perspectives on guidance: An interview with Anne Jones

This interview with Anne Jones was conducted in 1992. Anne Jones's guidance career has encompassed the roles of practitioner and policy-maker. The interview begins by exploring some of the ways in which the interpersonal and organisational skills she developed in each role influenced the way shem carried out her responsibilities in others. It also covers issues of effectiveness and accountability, her views about the aims of careers education and guidance and its place in the National Curriculum, the provision of adult guidance, and the influence of research on policy.     

Evaluating the effectiveness of counselling in primary care: Taking a fresh look

One criticism voiced by counsellors and psychotherapists is that research does not reflect either the culture or values of therapy. Researchers, on the other hand, accuse practitioners of not attending to their findings, and the implication is made that the latter engage in treatment processes that are ill‐informed. These polarised understandings give rise to the situation where the client — and his or her development — fall into the practice‐research gap. In more recent studies of counselling in primary care, an attempt has been made to offer new perspectives for interpreting and understanding findings, and the relative value — and limitations — of different research questions and methods. They provide just a few examples of how practitioner‐researchers in the future may ask more precise questions, yet reflect on their findings from a broader set of viewpoints.     

An information system for measuring patient behavior and its use by staff

A behavioral measurement system was designed around a point economy for a psychiatric ward of delinquent patients. The characteristics of the system were: (1) the records of points earned for appropriate patient behavior formed the primary data. (2) After the points were recorded in a data matrix, graphs were prepared to show the behavior of individual patients, the participation of the patient group in the various ward activities, and an overall index of ward operation. (3) Several techniques were devised for reviewing the graphs so that the ward staff could evaluate the success of their procedures over substantial time periods.     

An electronic cine camera system for the automatic collection and analysis of high-speed movement of unrestrained animals

A system is decribed that collects visual data using a solid-state photodiode image sensor at rates of up to 600 frames/sec in a binary format suitable for image-analysis techniques. Of particular interest is the system’s ability to analyze high-speed movement of animals without prior modification of the subject (e.g., attachment of lamps or reflectors to the subject).     

Facilitating autonomy in passive-dependent persons: An integrative model

Passive and dependent qualities are commonly found in psychiatric patients suffering from a variety of disorders. While such tendencies are often secondary to an Axis I clinical syndrome, they are occasionally more persistent and refractory. The present article attempts to provide therapeutic guidelines useful when working with clients displaying stable personality traits of passivity and dependency. An attempt is made to adapt and combine several therapeutic techniques to be applicable to passive-dependent clients. More specifically, problem-solving approaches and self-control strategies can be used to facilitate autonomy if precautions are taken to reduce the dogmatic and didactic styles commonly employed with these techniques. The Socratic method of interviewing is posited as a useful means of developing problem-solving skills without creating unnecessary dependence on the therapist. Self-control strategies can help reduce the reliance on others as the primary source of satisfaction for dependent clients. In this way, passive-dependent clients may become more self- reliant and autonomous in their daily functioning.The author would like to thank Patti Watson, Katie Brooks, and Estyn Williams for comments made on an earlier draft of this article.     

Image tracing: An analysis of its effectiveness in children's pictorial discrimination learning

Previous research has shown that requiring children to trace from memory the correct member of a pictorial discrimination pair markedly facilitates performance. The experiment reported here offers support for a presumed component of this learning strategy, namely, “memory imagery.” In particular, subjects who traced directly on top of the correct picture did not perform as well as those who traced it from memory. Various theoretical explanations of the image-tracing phenomenon are considered, including depth of processing, dual coding, and frequency.