Explorations of participants’ experiences of a Personal Development Group held as part of a counselling psychology training group: Is it safe in here?

This paper aims to extend understanding of student counsellors’ perceptions of participation in personal development (PD) groups during training. PD participants were invited to record their experiences in relation to these groups over a three month period. The accounts were then subjected to thematic analysis. Safety was found to be a dominant theme–both in the sense of how the group felt safe for them and also how the safety was threatened. These concepts are discussed and lessons the data has offered in terms of good practice in facilitating PD groups during counsellor training programmes are elucidated.     

Young driver distraction by text messaging: A comparison of the effects of reading and typing text messages in Chinese versus English

BackgroundReading and typing text messages while driving seriously impairs driving performance and are prohibited activities in many jurisdictions. Hong Kong is a bilingual society and many people write in both Chinese and English. As the input methods for text messaging in Chinese and English are considerably different, this study used a driving simulator approach to compare the effects of reading and typing Chinese and English text messages on driving performance.MethodThe driving performances of 26 participants were monitored under the following conditions: (1) no distraction, (2) reading and typing Chinese text messages, and (3) reading and typing English text messages. The following measures of driving performance were collected under all of the conditions: reaction time (RT), driving lane undulation (DLU), driving speed fluctuation (DSF), and car-following distance (CFD) between test and leading cars.ResultsRT, DLU, and DSF were significantly impaired by reading and typing both Chinese and English text messages. Moreover, typing text messages distracted drivers more than reading them. Although the Chinese text messaging input system is more complicated than the English system, the use of Chinese did not cause a significantly different degree of distraction.ConclusionBoth reading and typing text messages while driving should be prohibited regardless of whether Chinese or English is used.     

Linking individuation and organizational identification: Mediation through psychological safety

ABSTRACT

This paper examines how individuation, a view that organizational members are all unique individuals, induces a perception of psychological safety and how perception of psychological safety, in turn, increases one’s organizational identification. Results from 66 respondents in Study 1 provided first support for the proposed mechanism. In Study 2, data collected from 176 employees in work organizations also provided evidence for this mediation model. It was found in both studies that individuation has a significantly positive association with the perception of psychological safety such that the more employees view individual members of the organization as unique individuals, the more likely they perceive that their organization is a safe environment for self-expression. Furthermore, perception of psychological safety was found to serve as a mediator linking individuation and organizational identification.     

驾驶员在交通场景中的变化视盲及其启示

变化视盲(change blindness)现象,也称变化盲,是指视觉情景中人们不能觉察到某个事物变化的现象。研究以驾驶员为主体探讨了道路交通领域中的变化视盲现象。首先,从场景变化特征和驾驶员特征两个方面综述了影响驾驶员变化视盲的影响因素;其次,结合影响因素与变化视盲的特征理论建立了驾驶员变化检测的认知过程模型;最后,在模型的基础上,讨论了提高驾驶员变化检测能力的实际意义和潜在措施,并对未来有关交通安全变化视盲的研究予以展望。     

“Walking the talk”: the role of frontline supervisors in preventing workplace accidents

ABSTRACT

Most existing safety research focuses on climate and leadership, with most leadership studies investigating transformational leadership, which is likely to be more impactful when exhibited by executives that by frontline supervisors. Therefore, focusing on frontline supervisors, we investigate how leaders who “walk the talk”, by directly modelling safety behaviours, might encourage subordinates to behave more safely. Using a three-level sample consisting of 579 employees and their supervisors working in 161 groups within 53 organizations, we test a multisource multilevel indirect effects model. Results indicate that safety climate and supervisors modelling safety compliance explain unique variance in safety outcomes. We then addressed an unanswered question concerning whether safety climate is best conceptualized as a group or organizational-level phenomenon, finding that the group-level assessment of safety climate explained more variance in safety outcomes than the organizational-level assessment of safety climate. Both sets of results are consistent with social information processing theory and social learning theory, which highlight the immediate social environment’s influence on employees’ behaviour.     

Drivers’ engagement level in Adaptive Cruise Control while distracted or impaired

Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) is designed for convenience to maintain a set speed and specified distance from a lead vehicle. However, use of ACC may change driving patterns and perceptions over time. Many drivers perceive safety benefits associated with ACC even though the safety implications are not always clear. This study examined the factors that can influence the frequency of ACC use with surveys distributed to ACC owners in Washington State. A cluster analysis was conducted to group drivers based on how often they activated and used ACC under various driving scenarios. Four clusters emerged that showed a range of use from those who rarely used ACC in any situation (low engagement group) to those who used it for almost all situations regardless of whether it is appropriate or not (high engagement group). An ordered logit model was used to predict the likelihood of being in one of the four clusters. Drivers that were less likely to use ACC in distracting or impaired situations tend to be older, were not willing to re-purchase a similar vehicle with ACC, and were generally confused on how to use the cruise speed setting. Drivers who reported higher overall use of ACC also used the system in situations that can be considered distracting or risky, which can negate the overall benefits of ACC.     

Factors affecting perceived safety and enjoyment based on driver experience

A positive driving experience, especially for older drivers, increases the attention to the emotional dimensions of driving, such as the driver’s perceived safety. Therefore, this study empirically presents factors affecting driver experience and compares them between older and younger drivers. Consequently, we conducted a face-to-face survey on elderly and young drivers and analyzed the data of 246 drivers using structural equation modeling. The analysis presented measurements and structural model evaluations. Considering the analysis, it was found that driving-related information and car-exterior context affect the perceived safety and enjoyment of a driver’s experience. Additionally, car-exterior context exerts a greater influence on the perceived safety and enjoyment of the elderly drivers’ group than the young drivers’ group. The results of this study will empirically contribute to the satisfaction of driver experience and perceived safety improvement in the future. It also provides a basis for the development of driving interfaces to improve the quality of the driving experience of the elderly.