Homily at the Opening Prayer of the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches

This is the text of the homily at the opening prayer of the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches on 31 August 2022. The homily was based on Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, a narrative in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John. Despite wide gaps of religious belief, gender, culture, and lifestyle, Jesus took the woman seriously and spoke to her on a personal level.     

1秒以上时距判断的ERP研究

以视觉呈现时距信号,采用时间泛化范式要求被试判断5种探测时距(1～4秒)与标准时距(2秒)之间的长度关系,并记录11名大学生在时距判断过程中的事件相关电位(ERP),继而探讨不同探测时距条件下CNV波幅特征变化以及左、右侧额叶在时距判断中的功能。结果发现:1秒、1.42秒以及2秒条件下,CNV波幅峰出现在探测时距结束点,2.84秒、4秒条件下,CNV波幅峰出现在大约2秒处(标准时距);CNV负性翻转至基线位置在1秒、1.42秒、2秒条件下随探测时距的增长而延后,而在2.84秒、4秒两种条件下无显著差异;左、右侧额叶处诱发的CNV波幅峰潜时在2.84秒、4秒探测时距条件下无显著差异,且均在2秒附近。这说明在1秒以上视时距判断中CNV波幅峰反映了基于记忆中标准时距的时距判断的决策过程;CNV负性翻转至基线位置与时距判断的决策阶段存在共变关系,CNV负性翻转至基线位置相当于负荷解脱过程中的一个由负翻正的转折点;左、右侧额叶均参与了时距脉冲累加过程。     

Cautious behaviors of pedestrians while crossing narrow streets: Exploration of behaviors using virtual reality experiments

This study explores the cautious behaviors of pedestrians in a typical local street environment using virtual reality (VR)-based experiments under various physical safety design scenarios for roadways. The built environment of this study focused on narrow local roads where frequent daily walking occurs within a neighborhood. VR experiments can provide an objective and accurate measurement of pedestrian behaviors, thus improving the understanding of complicated pedestrian behaviors. Based on experimental data from 200 university students, we identified pedestrians’ crossing behavior that is cautionary or risky concerning various physical safety designs of streets. This study found that there are trade-off relationships between various behaviors which should be systematically studied to produce safer street design guidelines. Furthermore, as the contexts and sequences matter in behaviors for intersection crossing, the interpretation of behaviors should carefully consider the context of built environments and sequential decisions made by pedestrians. This sequential understanding of before- and during-crossing behaviors and their connections expands our knowledge of pedestrians’ crossing behaviors.     

How distraction affects pedestrian response: Evidence from behavior patterns and cortex oxyhemoglobin changes

ObjectivesDistracted walking is a major cause of pedestrian road traffic injuries, but little is known about how distraction affects pedestrian safety. The study was designed to explore how visual and auditory distraction might influence pedestrian safety.MethodsThree experiments were conducted to explore causal mechanisms from two theoretical perspectives, increased cognitive load from the distraction task and resource competition in the same sensory modality. Pedestrians’ behavior patterns and cortex oxyhemoglobin changes were recorded while they performed a series of dual tasks.ResultsFour primary results emerged: (a) participants responded more slowly to both visual and auditory stimuli in traffic, as well as walked more slowly, while talking on the phone or text messaging compared to when undistracted or listening to music; (b) when participants completed pedestrian response tasks while distracted with a high cognitive load, their response was significantly slower and poorer than when they carried out a lower cognitive load distraction task, (c) participants had higher levels of oxy-Hb change in cortices related to visual processing and executive function while distracted with a higher cognitive load; and (d) participants' responses to traffic lights were slower and resulted in a higher activation in prefrontal cortex and occipital areas when distracted by a visual distraction task compared to when distracted with an auditory task; similarly, brain activation increased significantly in temporal areas when participants responded to an auditory car horn task compared to when they responded to visual traffic lights.ConclusionsBoth distracting cognitive load demands and the type of distraction task significantly affect young adult pedestrian performance and threaten pedestrian safety. Pedestrian injury prevention efforts should consider the effects of the type of distracting task and its cognitive demands on pedestrian safety.     

Young pedestrians' behaviours and risk perception: a pilot study with Italian early adolescents

This study aimed to investigate early adolescents’ mobility, taking into consideration risky pedestrian behaviours around roads and their relationship with independent mobility and risk perception in different traffic situations. The participants were 922 students, males (48%) and females, aged 10–14 and who attended the seventh (51%) and ninth grades in a medium-sized city in southern Italy. They completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire at school, specifically designed for the research. Measures included mode of transport, level of independent mobility, frequency of risky behaviours as a pedestrian and risk perception of these behaviours. Moreover, students were asked to evaluate the risk, their likely behaviour, and likely motives for risky behaviour in a specific traffic scenario concerning a risky road crossing shown on a video. Gender and age differences were taken into consideration, and relationships between risky behaviour as a pedestrian, level of independent mobility and different measures of risk perception (concerning both risk behaviour as a pedestrian and in the video scenario) were investigated. Results showed that risky behaviours while travelling as a pedestrian were more widespread among ninth grade students and those who were more independent. Moreover, a strong relationship between a greater involvement in risky pedestrian behaviours and lower risk perception and a greater tendency to justify risky behaviours were found in the students. Results suggested the implementation of a prevention programme in early adolescence to improve both risk perception in specific traffic situations and the awareness of motives of risky road behaviours.     

The effect of age and sensation seeking on pedestrian crossing safety in a virtual reality street

A wide range of individual, interpersonal and environmental factors influence the safety of pedestrians crossing the street, including human development (children take more risks than adolescents and adults) and sensation seeking (individuals higher in sensation seeking have greater risk). The interaction between those two variables has not been carefully studied, however. Does the effect of sensation seeking on pedestrian safety vary across human development as cognitive and other skills improve? This study investigated the primary effects of age and sensation seeking, plus their joint effects, on pedestrian crossing in a virtual reality environment. 209 children (10–13 years old), adolescents (14–18 years old) and young adults (20–24 years old) screened to be high and low level in sensation seeking participated. A 3 (age group: child vs adolescent vs young adult) × 2 (sensation seeking: high vs low) × 2 (traffic condition: easy vs harder crossing) mixed factorial design was conducted. Three pedestrian safety outcomes – start delay, missed opportunities and dangerous crossings – were considered. Results showed that when the traffic condition was easier to cross within, the start delay to enter traffic gaps was significantly shorter for children than for adolescents and young adults. There were no significant differences across age groups when the traffic condition was harder to cross within. Pedestrians also missed more opportunities to cross the road when the traffic condition was harder to cross within. Pedestrians low in sensation seeking missed more opportunities to cross than those high in sensation seeking. All age groups had more dangerous crossings during the harder crossing scenario than in the easier one, and adolescents had more dangerous crossings than young adults or children. Finally, the results of hierarchical regression models predicting dangerous crossings showed that traffic condition had a significant predictive effect on children's dangerous crossing behavior, and both high sensation seeking and harder traffic conditions predicted adolescents’ dangerous crossing behavior. No included variables significantly predicted adults' dangerous crossing behavior. We conclude that both age and sensation-seeking contribute to pedestrian safety. The effect of sensation seeking does not vary widely by age group, but its effect on adolescents was somewhat stronger than in the other age groups studied.     

Exploration of mental envelope determinants when pedestrians interact with various mobilities on mixed streets

Mixed traffic of multiple road users may increase when machines and future mobilities are gradually introduced in human society to satisfy the travel and service needs of people. For providing a safe and comfortable walking environment for pedestrians in the mixed streets with various mobilities, this study proposes the envelope theorem based on the contributions and limitations of the previous explorations in human–machine coexistence. The envelope is divided into physical and mental envelopes. The main focus of this study is the mental envelope (ME) which is a psychological boundary used to distinguish the range of comfort and unpleasantness in people’s minds. ME as the expansion of previous interpersonal distance can explain the pedestrian perceptions from different perspectives. This paper discusses the definition, expressions, and applications of ME, and then explores its determinants and relationships by conducting structural equation modeling (SEM) based on the questionnaire survey. The findings may assist to create better road allocation in the future.     

Effect of chevron design on driver behaviour when encountering and passing through a dangerous curve

Horizontal curves are locations on the road network with a high road accident risk. In order to provide drivers with timely and proper information about the upcoming curve, road authorities often use chevron signs. Although the main design of chevrons is similar in most countries (one colour for the background and another for the arrow), the combination of colours differs. The aim of this simulator study is to investigate how different colour combinations affect drivers when they encounter and drive through horizontal curves on rural roads at daytime. Overall, each of the tested chevrons reduced the driving speed (between 25 and 29 km/h), although not to the speed limit level (60 km/h). However, for curves marked with chevrons with fluorescent or white background the driving speed was the lowest at all measuring points, regardless of the curve direction. The observation of lateral movement shows that there are no significant differences in the way the vehicle is positioned when approaching and driving through curves marked with different chevrons. Based on the obtained results, practical recommendations and potential future research activities are presented.     

Can boundary crossings in clinical supervision be beneficial?

Published studies have addressed boundary violations by clinical supervisors, but boundary crossings, particularly those deemed positive by supervisees, have not received much attention. Eleven trainees in APA-accredited doctoral programs in clinical and counseling psychology were interviewed regarding positive boundary crossings (PBCs) they experienced with clinical supervisors. Interview data were analyzed using Consensual Qualitative Research. Examples of PBCs included socializing with supervisors outside the office, sharing car rides, and supervisor self-disclosure. Typically, supervisees did not discuss the PBC with their supervisors because they were uncomfortable doing so, felt that the PBC was normal, or felt that processing such issues was not part of the supervisor’s style. Most supervisees viewed the PBCs as enhancing the supervisory relationship and their clinical training; however, some participants reported that the PBCs created role confusion. The results suggest that there are legitimate reasons for supervisors to be scrupulous about their boundaries with supervisees; however, supervisors who hold rigid boundaries can deprive supervisees of deeper mentoring relationships or a more authentic emotional relationship that can be valuable to supervisees learning how to provide psychotherapy.     

Effects of Interpretation Training on Hostile Attribution Bias and Reactivity to Interpersonal Insult

Research suggests that individuals high in anger have a bias for attributing hostile intentions to ambiguous situations. The current study tested whether this interpretation bias can be altered to influence anger reactivity to an interpersonal insult using a single-session cognitive bias modification program. One hundred thirty-five undergraduate students were randomized to receive positive training, negative training, or a control condition. Anger reactivity to insult was then assessed. Positive training led to significantly greater increases in positive interpretation bias relative to the negative group, though these increases were only marginally greater than the control group. Negative training led to increased negative interpretation bias relative to other groups. During the insult, participants in the positive condition reported less anger than those in the control condition. Observers rated participants in the positive condition as less irritated than those in the negative condition and more amused than the other two conditions. Though mediation of effects via bias modification was not demonstrated, among the positive condition posttraining interpretation bias was correlated with self-reported anger, suggesting that positive training reduced anger reactivity by influencing interpretation biases. Findings suggest that positive interpretation training may be a promising treatment for reducing anger. However, the current study was conducted with a non-treatment-seeking student sample; further research with a treatment-seeking sample with problematic anger is necessary.