Exploration of older drivers’ speeding behaviour

Speeding increases crash risk and resulting injury severity. Older drivers are at increased risk of injury due to frailty, at increased risk of crashing due to slower reaction times, and have less agility judging time and distance compared to younger drivers. However, there is little objective evidence about older drivers’ speeding behaviour. Cross-sectional data from older drivers living in the suburban outskirts of Sydney, Australia, were used to determine the proportion of drivers involved in speed events, and examine factors that may influence this behaviour. Driving speed was estimated in approximately one-second intervals using Global Positioning System (GPS) location. Speed events were defined as driving 1 km/h or more, with 3% tolerance, above a single speed limit, averaged over 30-s of travel. Driving data from one-week were recorded for 344 participants aged 75–94 years (median 80). The majority of participants (78%) were involved in a speed event. Speed events per participant ranged from zero to 186 (median 8). Younger participants, those living in rural areas, and those driving on familiar roads closer to home were more likely to be involved in speed events adjusted for distance driven. In addition, rural residents were more likely to be involved in speed events when they had not been a driver involved in a crash during the previous year compared to those involved in a crash. Measures of visual and cognitive function did not predict involvement with speed events per distance (p > 0.2). These findings are important for policy-makers and researchers addressing older drivers’ speeding to reduce the incidence of crashes and resulting fatalities and injuries. As no evidence was found for speeding being associated with functional decline, countermeasures to address speeding for other drivers seem likely to be relevant to older drivers.     

Investigating the effects of Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacons on pedestrian behavior and driver yielding on 25 mph streets: A quasi-experimental field study on a university campus

Rectangular Rapid-Flash Beacons (RRFBs) are safety measures that have become popular in recent years in the USA. Such equipment has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing vehicle speed and conflicts among road users, and increasing drivers’ yielding to pedestrians. However, RRFB effects on pedestrian behaviors are less well documented, and perhaps could produce contraindicated effects in crossing behavior. Specifically, RRFBs may give pedestrians a feeling of protection and induce them to more risk-taking when crossing the road. The current study was designed to investigate drivers and pedestrians’ reactions to a RRFB system installed at a university campus located in Virginia, USA. We deployed (a) field observation, using a multiple pretest/posttest non-equivalent control group quasi-experiment design and (b) interviews of students throughout the project’s multiple time periods. In total, 2454 pedestrians and 1312 drivers were observed and 265 students were interviewed. RRFB installations did not distinguish driver yielding likelihood between sites with or without RRFBs. However, driver yielding overall increased linearly over the five rounds of the study. Whether this was the result of the general presence of RRFBs on campus from the third round to the end of the fifth round is unknown. There is evidence from person interviews that students perceived increased safety for pedestrians over time. Being a RRFB chosen site or actual activation of the RRFBs did not have a significant relationship with pedestrian looking behavior either. The potential consequences of these results as well as the context of RRFB use on a university campus and generally low-speed roads are discussed.     

The effect of fatigue driving on car following behavior

Existing fatigued driving analysis methods mainly focus on lateral driving performance by using the measurements related to the steering wheel or lane position. There is a lack of research on longitudinal car following behavior. In this study, 40 professional drivers are invited to participate in field expressway driving experiment, lasting at least for 6 h. During the test, their performance is measured in terms of their self-reported fatigued driving level according to the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS), the PERcentage of eye CLOSures (PERCLOS) and the Time Headway (THW). Then the effects of the fatigued driving level on car following behavior are evaluated. The results indicate that the fatigue level (for both KSS and PERCLOS) has significantly impact on THW parameters, including the mean, standard deviation and minimum THW. An increase in KSS and PERCLOS leads to a lower mean and minimum THW. Meanwhile, the standard deviation of THW increases with the increase of KSS and PERCLOS. In conclusion, this study found that a higher fatigue level leads to the driver keeping a smaller THW when following another vehicle and choosing shorter THW to make lane change. More deviation of car following performance was also found with the increase of fatigue level. Therefore, the findings of this study can be used to explain fatigue as one of the major reasons for rear-end collisions. Also, the research findings demonstrate the impact of fatigue on driving behavior in terms of car following performance, which can be used as a measurement for monitoring fatigued drivers.     

Parental Monitoring,Association with Externalized Behavior,and Academic Outcomes in Urban African‐American Youth: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

African‐American adolescents exposed to neighborhood disadvantage are at increased risk for engaging in problem behavior and academic underachievement. It is critical to identify the mechanisms that reduce problem behavior and promote better academic outcomes in this population. Based on social disorganization and socioecological theories, the current prospective study examined pathways from parental monitoring to academic outcomes via externalizing behavior at different levels of neighborhood disadvantage. A moderated mediation model employing maximum likelihood was conducted on 339 African‐American students from 9th to 11th grade (49.3% females) with a mean age of 14.8 years (SD ± 0.35). The results indicated that parental monitoring predicted low externalizing behavior, and low externalizing behavior predicted better academic outcomes after controlling for externalizing behavior in 9th grade, intervention status, and gender. Mediation was supported, as the index of mediation was significant. Conversely, neighborhood disadvantage did not moderate the path from parental monitoring to externalizing behavior. Implications for intervention at both community and individual levels and study limitations are discussed.     

The impact of the crisis on the Orthodox Church of Greece: a moment of challenge and opportunity?

This article explores the impact of the economic crisis on the Orthodox Church of Greece (OCG). The first three parts of the article set the current stage by offering a short overview of the crisis and the response of the OCG through its charitable social welfare activities. The fourth part looks at church–state relations in Greece, covering more particularly its financial aspects. The fifth and final part discusses how the economic crisis has affected the OCG itself, including its own finances and governance, and sustainability and mission in the long term. Although the OCG provides social assistance to the Greek population during the economic crisis, it also finds itself very much affected by the same crisis. The economic crisis has forced the OCG to reduce its operating costs while at the same time continue its extensive social work. The crisis has also prompted public debates and questions about the finances of the OCG. This situation may gradually force either the Greek state or the OCG, or perhaps both, to rethink their relationship in the future.     

男女大学生对两性嗓音源记忆的差异性研究

该项研究以两字中文词为记忆材料,以男女两种嗓音为记忆源,对20名被试进行记忆源检测.结果表明男女被试总源判断能力差异不显著;男女被试对单项源的辨别能力差异显著,表现为男性被试对男声词的辨别强于女声词,女性被试对女声词的辨别强于男声词;另外,新旧项目再认能力d'值男女被试差异不显著.     

记忆源检测的双加工机制研究

本研究借鉴Mitchell等人的图词归源和早晚归源任务,引发启发式和系统式加工,并引入知觉流畅性变量,试图在知觉层面上分离两种加工的底层工作模式。结果发现:(1)源检测具有相对脆弱性,成绩显著差于再认。(2)启发式加工和系统式加工在加工速度和底层工作模式上分离,启发式加工速度快,其工作模式似乎是对刺激的知觉流畅性进行阈下水平的解释与归因,而系统式加工速度慢,其工作模式似乎是对意义的分析与推理。     

Parental Awareness and Monitoring of Adolescent Internet Use

This study focused on four aspects of parental monitoring of Internet use by their children: parental supervision, communication and tracking, and adolescent disclosure. Data were obtained from a SAFT (Safety Awareness for Teens Project) national survey of Singapore youths and parents regarding Internet safety at home. Study 1 examined 1,124 adolescents and 1,002 parents; Study 2 examined a subsample of 169 dyads of adolescents and their parents. Frequency of use and engagement in risky Internet behaviors such as visiting inappropriate websites were analysed. The results indicated that parents tend to underestimate adolescents’ engagement in risky Internet behaviors and overestimate the amount of parental monitoring regarding Internet safety that occurs at home. The study suggested that mothers have a better awareness of their adolescents’ Internet use than fathers. The findings were explained in the context of parental monitoring. The results suggest that parental monitoring needs to be reconceptualized and that parents need to improve the communication with their adolescents regarding Internet use.     

一种测量记忆监测相对准确性的新指标：da

记忆监测的相对准确性是元记忆研究中一个重要内容。研究者采用了各种方法来测量人们记忆监测的判断值对正确项目和错误项目的区分度,例如相关法、信号检测论(SDT)测量法。其中,gamma相关从1984年起一直被广泛用于记忆监测相对准确性的测量。基于SDT的新指标da弥补了gamma相关在实际应用中的不足,并引发了新的研究兴趣。文章对da的提出背景、计算方法和应用前景进行了详细的介绍,对da与其他常用方法在使用中的优势进行了比较。对da的具体应用进行了说明,同时指出了da的使用条件。     

Culture,Emotion, and Well-being: Good Feelings in Japan and the United States

We tested the hypothesis that “good feelings”—the central element of subjective well-being—are associated with interdependence and interpersonal engagement of the self in Japan, but with independence and interpersonal disengagement of the self in the United States. Japanese and American college students (total N = 913) reported how frequently they experienced various emotional states in daily life. In support of the hypothesis, the reported frequency of general positive emotions (e.g. calm, elated) was most closely associated with the reported frequency of interpersonally engaged positive emotions (e.g. friendly feelings) in Japan, but with the reported frequency of interpersonally disengaged positive emotions (e.g. pride) in the United States. Further, for Americans the reported frequency of experience was considerably higher for positive emotions than for negative emotions, but for Japanese it was higher for engaged emotions than for disengaged emotions. Implications for cultural constructions of emotion in general and subjective well-being in particular are discussed.