Crash risk evaluation of aggressive driving on motorways: Microscopic traffic simulation approach

This paper provides quantitative evaluation of safety implications of aggressive driving (speeding, following closely and weaving through traffic) by using microscopic traffic simulation approach. Combination of VISSIM and Surrogate Safety Assessment Model (SSAM) were used to model motorway and assess safety of the simulated vehicle. The use of vehicle conflicts was validated by correlating it to historic crashes. Crash risk, severity levels and the magnitude of the perceived benefits of aggressive driving were quantified relative to normal drivers under two scenarios: (1) congested, and (2) non-congested traffic conditions. Involvement in vehicle conflicts is used to determine crash-risk while reductions in Post Encroachment Time (PET) and travel time were used to determine the severity levels of the expected crashes and the magnitude of the perceived benefits. The results indicated that the crash risk of aggressive drivers was found to be in the range 3.10–5.8 depending on traffic conditions and type of road aggression. PET of the conflicts involving aggressive drivers reduced by 7–61% indicating high severity levels of the expected crashes. Moreover, the magnitude of the perceived benefit in terms of reduction in travel time was found to be as little as 1–2%. The study concluded that aggressive driving is entailed with a massive risk while its benefits are actually very little.     

‘The witness who saw, /he left little doubt’: a comparative consideration of expert testimony in mental disability law cases in common and civil law systems

The question of how courts assess expert evidence—especially when mental disability is an issue—raises the corollary question of whether courts adequately evaluate the content of the expert testimony or whether judicial decision making may be influenced by teleology (‘cherry picking’ evidence), pretextuality (accepting experts who distort evidence to achieve socially desirable aims), and/or sanism (allowing prejudicial and stereotyped evidence). Such threats occur despite professional standards in forensic psychology and other mental health disciplines that require ethical expert testimony. The result is expert testimony that, in many instances, is at best incompetent and at worst biased. The paper details threats to competent expert testimony in a comparative law context—in both the common law (involuntary civil commitment laws and risk assessment criminal laws) and, more briefly, civil law. We conclude that teleology, pretextuality, and sanism have an impact upon judicial decision making in both the common law and civil law. Finally, we speculate as to whether the new United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is likely to have any impact on practices in this area. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

RISK AND SACRAMENT: BEING HUMAN IN A COVID-19 WORLD

In this article we examine the changing relationship to risk as revealed by the covid-19 pandemic and the ways this has, and may in future, alter sacramental practice, considering the radical effects this could have on traditional Christian practice. We consider the cultural trends that may lie behind this developing approach to risk, examining this in the context of an emergent transhuman identity that is technologically moderated and seeks to overcome risks of human mortality.     

Development and Validation of an Instrument for the Assessment of Dependency Among Bereaved Persons

Dependency among bereaved individuals has been hypothesized to be an important predictor of severe and enduring grief reactions. However, although there are a number of instruments that assess interpersonal dependency as a personality trait or style, no scales are available to assess bereavement-related dependency. Data from 170 widowed participants in a community-based longitudinal investigation, who had been bereaved for an average of 10.8 months, were used to investigate the reliability and validity of the Bereavement Dependency Scale (BDS), an instrument that was developed to assess dependency on the deceased among bereaved persons. Results indicated that the BDS demonstrated acceptable internal reliability and satisfactory convergent, discriminant, and construct validity. The BDS may be a clinically useful predictor of enduring and complicated grief reactions, major depressive disorder, and suicidality among recently bereaved individuals.     

The Mediating Role of Executive Functioning in the Relation Between Difficult Temperament and Physical Aggression

The present investigation tested the hypothesis that executive functioning (EF) would mediate the relation between difficult temperament (DT) and aggressive behavior. This model was tested in 310 adult men and women. DT was measured using the Dimensions of Temperament Scale—Revised, EF was measured using 7 well-established neuropsychological tests, and aggression was assessed using the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire. EF successfully mediated the DT–aggression relation for men, however, the model did not hold for women. Results are discussed with regard to how they influence current models of aggressive behavior as well as their implications for future violence prevention efforts.     

Risk Perception and Affect

ABSTRACT— Humans perceive and act on risk in two fundamental ways. Risk as feelings refers to individuals' instinctive and intuitive reactions to danger. Risk as analysis brings logic, reason, and scientific deliberation to bear on risk management. Reliance on risk as feelings is described as "the affect heuristic." This article traces the development of this heuristic and discusses some of the important ways that it impacts how people perceive and evaluate risk.     

Factors influencing young children's risk of unintentional injury: Parenting style and strategies for teaching about home safety

This study examined mothers' teaching about home-safety issues to 24–30 month and 36–42 month old children, explored the relationship of teaching strategies to parenting styles, and assessed how these factors are related to children's risk of unintentional injury. A structured interview assessed home-safety issues relevant to falls, burns, cuts, poisoning, and suffocation/strangulation/choking. Mothers identified safety issues relevant to her child, and indicated the type and extent to which she utilized teaching as a strategy to address each safety issue. Standardized questionnaires provided information about parenting style and children's history of injuries. Results revealed that mothers' endorsements of home-safety issues did not vary with child age, mothers used teaching to manage safety issues for all types of injuries, and type of teaching strategy (explanations, rules, behavior modification) varied with parenting style. Greater use of explaining and less rule usage was linked to permissive parenting; these teaching strategies predicted children's medically-attended injury among highly-permissive mothers. Thus, teaching about safety is a common risk-management strategy mothers use to address hazards in the home. However, the specific type of teaching strategy used varies with parenting style, which has implications for children's risk of injury.     

构建新型医患关系控制医院医疗风险

医疗风险普遍存在,医疗风险的控制就是在风险发生后,医方能及时、准确地采取各种措施,有效、经济地减少损害、弥补损失。针对医患双方在风险发生后有不同的心理特点,医院应该构建以病人为中心的、非惩罚的、和谐的医患关系,从而实现控制医疗风险的目的。     

医疗风险管理与医患关系的调适

医疗行为具有高风险属性,但医疗机构经营目标不是追求自身利益最大化,而是公众健康,因此医疗机构风险管理的手段和目标应该着眼于影响目标实现的各种不确定因素,这就要求把医患关系状况纳入风险管理范畴。在当前社会环境下,医疗机构自觉地自留一部分风险成本更有利于经营目标的实现和医患关系的协调。