Using modeling and rehearsal to teach fire safety to children with autism

We evaluated the efficacy of an instructional procedure to teach young children with autism to evacuate settings and notify an adult during a fire alarm. A multiple baseline design across children showed that an intervention that included modeling, rehearsal, and praise was effective in teaching fire safety skills. Safety skills generalized to novel settings and maintained during a 5‐week follow‐up in both training and generalization settings.     

Servant Leadership and Follower Outcomes: Mediating Effects of Organizational Identification and Psychological Safety

This study investigated the mediating role of organizational identification and psychological safety in the relationship between servant leadership and two employee outcomes: employee voice and negative feedback seeking behavior. The sample for this study comprised of 174 full-time employees drawn from a large food company based in Pakistan. Results showed that organizational identification and psychological safety partially mediated the effects of servant leadership on voice and negative feedback seeking behavior. The theoretical and practical implications of this research are discussed.     

Resign or carry-on? District and principal leadership as drivers of change in teacher turnover intentions during the COVID-19 crisis: A latent growth model examination

During the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers in the United States, an already at-risk occupation group, experienced new work-related stressors, safety concerns, and work-life challenges, magnifying on-going retention concerns. Integrating the crisis management literature with the unfolding model of turnover, we theorize that leader actions trigger initial employee responses but also set the stage for on-going crisis response that influence changes in teachers' turnover intentions. We apply latent growth curve modelling to test our hypotheses based on a sample of 617 K-12 teachers using nine waves of data, including a baseline survey at the start of the 2020–2021 school year and eight follow-up surveys (2-week lags) through the Fall 2020 semester. In terms of overall adaptation, teachers on average, experienced an increase in work-life balance and a decrease in turnover intentions over the course of the semester. Results also suggest that district and school leadership provide unique and complementary resources, but leader behaviours that shape initial crisis responses do not similarly affect employee responses during crisis, contrary to theory. Instead, teachers' adaptive crisis response trajectories were triggered by continued resource provision over the semester; increasing provision of valued resources (i.e., continued refinement of safety practices) and improvements in work-life balance prevented turnover intentions from spiralling throughout the crisis. Crisis management theory and research should continue to incorporate temporal dynamics and identify factors that contribute to crisis response trajectories, using designs and analyses that allow for examination as crises unfold in real time.     

Evaluation of motorized two-wheeler rider responses towards jaywalking pedestrians through mockup control studies for urban streets

This study aims to model the motorized two-wheeler (MTW) riders’ evasive-action behavior towards jaywalking pedestrians using a mockup study. The brake reaction times (BRTs), approach speeds, decelerations, headings, and yaw rates were analyzed for two surprise scenarios (scenarios 1 and 3), one stationary scenario (scenario-2), and one expected scenario (scenario-4). In total, 50 riders participated in the mockup study. The results revealed that the 90th percentile BRT for the expected and surprise scenarios were 3.6 and 1.6 s, respectively. Further, repeated-measures ANOVA was performed followed by mixed effect modeling to ascertain the effect of conflict severity (two groups: group-1 with Time to Collision (TTC) < 1.5 s and group-2 with TTC > 1.5 s) and scenario type (three groups: scenarios 1, 3 and 4) on BRT. The results indicated that the main effects were significant while the interaction effect was not significant. The positive and significant coefficient (0.32) of TTC group-2 indicated higher BRTs than TTC group-1. Considering scenario-1 as the base scenario, the coefficient of scenario 3 (-0.02) indicated that scenario-1 and scenario-3 had a similar effect on BRT, while the coefficient of scenario-4 (1.47) indicated higher BRTs compared to scenario-1. The analysis of evasive action behavior revealed that 32% of riders performed hard braking in surprise scenarios. Further, yaw rate values at the crossing point indicated a loss of control of MTW in 90% of surprise events. The observations from this study provide a basis for developing countermeasures to improve pedestrian and MTW rider safety.     

Revisiting the level-of-service framework for pedestrian comfortability: Velocity depicts more accurate perceived congestion than local density

The evaluation of pedestrian comfortability is important for the construction and management of walkable spaces. Pedestrian level-of-service (LOS), which is mostly categorized by density, has been widely applied and is believed to be capable of indicating the comfortability of the crowd. However, there is a lack of evidence that physically measured LOS reflects psychological comfortability, let alone the comparison between the performances of different candidate indicators, including the velocity and different local densities. Here, we show that walking velocity depicts pedestrian perceived congestion more accurately than density. In our experiments on pedestrians in a room-egress scenario with an inner obstacle, we obtained objective physical trajectory data from video analysis as well as subjective perception data from a questionnaire survey. The performance of the velocity and four types of local densities in reproducing pedestrian perceptions were numerically evaluated. We found that the velocity outperformed the local density. The lower performance of local densities was mainly caused by the pedestrians located at the back of the crowd, who walked at lower velocities and perceived higher congestion, despite their lower local densities that would correspond to less crowdedness from a physical viewpoint. Besides, the perceived congestion of pedestrians was shown to be affected by the initial pedestrian positions at the crowd, the obstacle layout, and the pedestrians’ age and gender. Furthermore, we suggest that the larger the gap between the desired and actual velocities, the larger the extent of the perceived congestion. We expect that our findings will contribute to a more accurate evaluation of pedestrian comfortability, which could help improve the walkable spaces of various infrastructures.     

Predicting pedestrians’ intention to cross the road in front of automated vehicles in risky situations

Due to the absence of a human driver, the introduction of fully automated vehicles (FAVs) may bring new safety challenges to the traffic system, especially when FAVs interact with vulnerable road users such as pedestrians. To ensure safer interactions between pedestrians and FAVs, this questionnaire-based study aims to understand Australian pedestrians’ intention to engage in risky road-crossing behaviors when they interact with FAVs vs. human-driven vehicles (HDVs). A 2 × 2 between-subject design was utilized, in which two risky road-crossing scenarios were designed and took into account the vehicle type (FAV vs. HDV) and vehicle speed (30 km/h vs. 50 km/h). A total of 493 participants (aged 18–77) were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental conditions and completed an online questionnaire based on the extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). This questionnaire measured pedestrians’ intentions to cross the road in the assigned scenarios as well as the motivational factors behind these intentions in terms of attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, perceived risk and trust in the vehicle. The results show that pedestrians had significantly higher intentions to cross the road in front of approaching FAVs than HDVs. Participants also reported a lower risk perception of crossing in front of FAVs and greater trust in this type of vehicle. Attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control were significant predictors of intentions to engage in risky road-crossing behavior. Findings of this study provide important implications for the development and implementation of FAVs in the future road transport system.     

Estimating effectiveness of speed reduction measures for pedestrian crossing treatments using an empirically supported speed choice modeling framework

Pedestrian crossing treatments, such as Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons (PHBs) and Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacons (RRFBs), are traffic control devices implemented to help pedestrians safely cross busy or higher-speed roadways at midblock crossings and uncontrolled intersections. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of the PHB and RRFB by analyzing drivers’ speeding behavior under different roadway types with real-life traffic conditions. In order to understand the effect of pedestrian crossing treatments (i.e., PHB and RRFB) have on drivers’ speeding behavior, this paper analyzes four zones (i.e., one upstream zone and three consecutive downstream zones). For the four analysis zones, different indexes were computed which corresponds to the differences in drivers’ speed when encountered with the pedestrian crossing treatments. A grouped random effect hurdle beta regression model is estimated for the indexes, with a fixed effect hurdle beta model used for comparison and validating the importance of considering the grouped random heterogeneity across participants. The proposed analysis framework was validated by the means of an empirical driving simulator study, based on two urban roads in the Central Florida region, North Alafaya Trail (SR-434) and South Orange Blossom Trail (US-441). The results revealed that the proposed modeling framework reflects drivers’ difference in speed for the different pedestrian crossing treatments. The results suggest that with proper understanding of the PHB, the PHB can reduce drivers speed even beyond the location of the PHB. Meanwhile, the RRFB does have some effect in speed reduction beyond the location of the RRFB, however many drivers failed to acknowledge the RRFB. It is suggested that when drivers’ have proper education on the use of the PHB to reduce speed safely and for the installation of RRFB be on roads with two or less lanes and a speed limit less than 40 mph. While the main purpose of the pedestrian crossing treatments is to help pedestrians cross safely, speed reduction can be considered a byproduct as revealed in this study.     

Cars overtaking cyclists on different urban road types – Expectations about passing safety are not aligned with observed passing distances

Cars overtaking cyclists have been identified as a source of crashes and subjective risk. Several studies investigated the passing distance for different road types. There has been less research concerning cyclists’ expectations concerning the passing distance at different road types. Thus, we aim at contrasting cyclists’ expectations about the passing safety for different speed limits and cycling infrastructures with the passing distances observed at corresponding urban road types. For this purpose, we show participants images of a predefined set of survey zones in a web-based survey, and ask them about the expected passing safety of cars overtaking them when imagining riding their bikes at these locations. We measure the observed passing distances at the same survey zones with a bike-mounted sensor. We find that cars meet the German legal minimum passing distance of 1.5 m in towns in only 30% of all observed events. In 30 km/h speed zones, passing distances at roads featuring dedicated cycling infrastructure (e.g. bike lanes, cycling boulevards) are decreased as compared to those featuring no cycling infrastructure. In contrast, people estimate that the passing safety on roads with dedicated cycling infrastructure is safer than without cycling infrastructure. This effect is even more pronounced on living streets. Situations where oncoming cars (e.g. living streets, ‘opposite’ roads) must be passed in close distance are apparently not perceived as particularly dangerous. Cycling tracks in 50 km/h speed zones increase both the observed passing distance and the corresponding expectations about passing safety. Taken together, the qualitative comparison of the two datasets implies that cyclists’ expectations about cars passing them in a more adequate and safe distance in streets with reduced speed limits and dedicated cycling infrastructure are not justified in light of the actually observed passing distances. Possible explanations for the contradicting patterns could be that cyclists prefer situations where space is explicitly dedicated for bikes, that they account for the anticipated car traffic volume, and that they assume oncoming cars as less dangerous to pass.     

Unsafety on two wheels,or social prejudice? Proxying behavioral reports on bicycle and e-scooter riding safety – A mixed-methods study

The use of non-motorized transportation and micro-mobility is increasing in many cities. Bicycle riding and e-scooter use are now more common and affordable than ever. However, users of these devices face certain key issues. These include their own risky behaviors as well as involvement in conflicts with other road users. Self-report data may not adequately capture these behaviors and interactions. Despite this, more objective data (i.e., how third parties perceive these users’ road behaviors) is scarce. Aims: This study aimed to understand whether e-scooter riders have comparable or different riding behaviors than cyclists. This was investigated using a mixed-method study. Methods: This paper is divided into two sub-studies. In Study 1, 950 Spanish non-cyclists and non-e-scooter riders (mean age 31.98 ± 13.27 years; 55.3% female) provided external ratings (proxies) regarding the perceived behaviors of bicycle and e-scooter riders. In Study 2, collective Rapid Assessment Processes (RAPs; n = 23) were used to develop qualitative configurations of some of the key risky behaviors highlighted in Study 1. Results: There were significant differences in the perceived errors and violations rated by proxies for both types of riders (with e-scooter riders perceived as having higher rates of risky behaviors). However, there were also structural differences in the effects of external raters’ risk perceptions, traffic rule knowledge, and traffic incidents with two-wheeled riders on how they rated the behaviors. Conclusion: The results of both studies suggest that external raters’ perceptions provide further understanding of the causes, dynamics, and conflicts related to road behaviors performed by certain groups of road users. This is particularly apparent when there is no clear legislation and information on safe riding in urban areas. In this sense, improving infrastructure could promote safer interactions. Finally, road safety education could focus on promoting safer practices and interactions in order to improve how others perceive riders’ behavior.     

焦虑中的安全行为及其影响

安全行为是个体用于预防或者减轻恐惧后果的行为, 它被认为是焦虑障碍维持的重要机制之一, 也会对焦虑的暴露治疗产生干扰。安全行为与焦虑水平、焦虑相关的认知偏差存在联系, 错误归因假说、注意资源偏离假说和行为信息假说对这种联系做出了解释。此外, 安全行为的使用会削弱焦虑暴露治疗的效果、提高暴露的接受性。未来研究应对安全行为做出更清晰的界定和准确的测量, 进一步改进研究设计, 借鉴第三代行为治疗的理论解释安全行为与焦虑的关系; 同时还需要考察安全行为的双重作用, 开发聚焦于安全行为的治疗方案并评估其效果。