Evaluating bicyclists’ risk perception using video clips: Comparison of frequent and infrequent city cyclists

Hazard and risk perception has been studied extensively among car drivers, and their link to crash involvement is established. Bicyclists, in particular, are vulnerable road users. Better understanding of their risk and hazard perception could help to improve their traffic safety.In this study, we investigated the risk perception of bicyclists in a city environment. Two groups of bicyclists were compared: 19 frequent and 19 infrequent bicyclists. Participants were shown video clips taken with a camera attached to the handlebar of a bicycle, and they were asked to continuously indicate with a slider how much caution the situation needed.The frequent cyclists had more frequent rises in the caution estimate, which suggest that they anticipated or detected more hazards than infrequent cyclists. This is in line with the classical hazard perception results, which link the car driving experience to faster and more accurate hazard perception. The overall level or caution was not directly related to the rise event rate or bicycling frequency. Those cyclists who reported typically cycling faster than others showed elevated overall level of caution on sidewalks compared with others, but there was no difference on bike paths.     

Profiles of Student Perceptions of School Climate: Relations with Risk Behaviors and Academic Outcomes

School climate has been linked to a variety of positive student outcomes, but there may be important within‐school differences among students in their experiences of school climate. This study examined within‐school heterogeneity among 47,631 high school student ratings of their school climate through multilevel latent class modeling. Student profiles across 323 schools were generated on the basis of multiple indicators of school climate: disciplinary structure, academic expectations, student willingness to seek help, respect for students, affective and cognitive engagement, prevalence of teasing and bullying, general victimization, bullying victimization, and bullying perpetration. Analyses identified four meaningfully different student profile types that were labeled positive climate, medium climate‐low bullying, medium climate‐high bullying, and negative climate. Contrasts among these profile types on external criteria revealed meaningful differences for race, grade‐level, parent education level, educational aspirations, and frequency of risk behaviors.     

风险认知策略的计算机模拟实验

风险认知策略是个体面临风险情景时的风险认知倾向,可以通过个体的行为策略加以判断。本实验采用计算机模拟风险情景,以严格的２×２×３的实验变量设计,研究个体的风险认知策略与风险情景因素的关系。实验结论表明,风险认知策略的调整与风险情景中的实际风险程度（风险概率）、风险信息类型以及对风险情景可控与不可控性的知觉有关。个体的冒险性倾向是相对稳定的心理特征,但风险认知策略的调整不仅与个体的心理特征有关,还与风险情景因素有关。     

The influence of desire for control on drivers' risk-taking behaviour

Increases in perceived control over the driving task are known to increase intended driving speeds. Also, some people like being in control more than others. In the present study, we compared drivers with a high desire for control and drivers with a low desire for control, as measured on Burger and Cooper's (1979) [Motivation and Emotion 3 (4) (1979) 381] Desirability of Control Scale. Using validated video simulation techniques, we found that drivers with a high desire for control intended to drive at faster speeds and were willing to pull out into smaller gaps in traffic. We discuss the results in terms of an illusion of control and we describe implications for road safety interventions.     

Individual differences in risk perception versus risk taking: handedness and interhemispheric interaction

Research indicates that right-hemisphere mechanisms are specifically sensitive to and averse to risk. Research also indicates that mixed degree of handedness is associated with increased access to right hemisphere processing. Accordingly, it was predicted that mixed-handers would exhibit greater risk aversion. Participants were presented with various risky activities and were asked to rate (i) the perceived risk, (ii) the perceived benefit, and (iii) their likelihood to engage in each activity. No handedness differences were found for any of these ratings. Regression analyses, however, indicated that the likelihood to engage in risky activities was predicted primarily by the perceived risks in mixed-handers and by the perceived benefits in strong-handers.     

Predictive models for understanding body dissatisfaction among young males and females in China

The present study was designed to develop predictive models for understanding body dissatisfaction among young males and females (N=1377) in China. Six factors were assessed, including body mass index (BMI), perception of teasing, social pressure to be thin, appearance comparison, thin-ideal internalization and perceived social support. Variables were examined respectively for males and females. One SEM model, which had good fit indices, was developed for each gender. For both genders, BMI exerted its influence on body image directly and indirectly through perception of teasing. Two sources of sociocultural influence, perception of teasing and social pressure to be thin, also directly predicted body dissatisfaction. Gender differences were found in the relation between mediational mechanisms (social comparison and thin-ideal internalization) and body dissatisfaction. For females but not males, social comparison and internalization acted as weak but significant mediators between sociocultural influence and body image concerns. Implications and limitations are discussed.     

Effects of post-session wheel running on within-session changes in operant responding

This study tested the effects of post-session wheel running on within-session changes in operant responding. Lever-pressing by six rats was reinforced by a food pellet under a continuous reinforcement (CRF) schedule in 30-min sessions. Two different flavored food pellets were used as reinforcers. In the wheel conditions, 30-min operant-sessions with one of the flavored pellets were followed by 30-min free-wheel running sessions. Meanwhile, in the home conditions, rats’ operant responding was reinforced by the other flavored pellets during 30-min operant-sessions, and the rats were then returned to their homecages. All rats were exposed to 4 wheel and 4 homecage sessions. Operant responding was lowered during the wheel conditions. However, post-session running did not alter the within-session pattern of operant responding. These effects were practically identical to the effects of drug-induced taste-aversion learning on within-session changes in operant responding, suggesting similar mechanisms in both taste-aversion preparations.     

Risk Assessment and Genetic Counseling for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer: Recommendations of the National Society of Genetic Counselors

These cancer genetic counseling recommendations describe the medical, psychosocial and ethical implications of identifying at-risk individuals for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) through cancer risk assessment, with or without genetic susceptibility testing. They were developed by members of the Practice Issues Subcommittee of the National Society of Genetic Counselors’ Familial Cancer Risk Counseling Special Interest Group. The information contained in this document is derived from extensive review of the current literature on cancer genetic risk assessment as well as the professional expertise of genetic counselors with significant experience in education and counseling regarding hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. Critical components of the process include the ascertainment of medical and family histories, determination and communication of cancer risk, assessment of risk perception, education regarding the genetics of HBOC, discussion of molecular testing for HBOC if appropriate (including benefits, risks and limitations) and any necessary follow-up. These recommendations do not dictate an exclusive course of management or guarantee a specific outcome. Moreover, they do not replace the professional judgment of a health care provider based on the clinical situation of a client.     

Childhood Factors that Precede Drug Injection: Is there a Link?

Examination of childhood risk factors for injection drug use may provide clues as to why people progress to injection drug use and it can promote identification of at-risk youth. We surveyed current injection drug users (IDUs) and individuals who never injected drugs (non-IDUs), recruited through street outreach and snowball sampling in Denver, CO. Between March 2000 and October 2003, 601 subjects (339 IDUs and 262 non-IDUs) participated in structured interviews. We examined self-reported factors in childhood that may have been influential in whether one progressed to drug injection later in life. These indicators included age at drug and alcohol initiation, childhood risk behavior, parental monitoring, family stability, and other family problems. Differences between IDUs and non-IDUs were assessed using unadjusted tests and logistic regression. Results of the data analysis indicated that IDUs were significantly younger when they first used both alcohol and marijuana, they reported higher childhood risk behavior scores, and they had less parental monitoring and less family stability as children than non-IDUs. This research may assist clinicians in defining factors that put youth at risk for problems associated with injection drug use.     

Deliberating Risks Under Uncertainty: Experience, Trust, and Attitudes in a Swiss Nanotechnology Stakeholder Discussion Group

Scientific knowledge has not stabilized in the current, early, phase of research and development of nanotechnologies creating a challenge to ‘upstream’ public engagement. Nevertheless, the idea that the public should be involved in deliberative discussions and assessments of emerging technologies at this early stage is widely shared among governmental and nongovernmental stakeholders. Many forums for public debate including focus groups, and citizen juries, have thus been organized to explore public opinions on nanotechnologies in a variety of countries over the past few years. In Switzerland the Centre for Technology Assessment (TA-Swiss) organized such a citizen panel in fall 2006. Drawing from an ethnographic study of this panel called ‘publifocus on nanotechnologies, health, and environment’ this paper looks at the ways members of a stakeholder group deal with the epistemic uncertainty in their deliberation of nanotechnologies. By exploring the statements of the participants in the stakeholder discussion group, this paper reconstructs the narratives that constitute the epistemic foundations of the participants’ evaluations of nanotechnologies.