Effects of position of speed limit signs and the presence of speed camera on Malaysian drivers’ speed choice: An eye-tracking study

Speeding is one of the most common driving violations in the world including in Malaysia. Reducing speed-related fatalities is one of Malaysia’s strategies to improve road safety. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of speed limit sign positioning and the presence of speed camera on drivers’ judgments about the appropriate speed to drive and their associated eye movements. Twenty participants took part in the study, and thirty two images of roads with a range of actual speed limits were presented. In each picture the displayed speed limit was edited to 30% lower than what participants think is appropriate on average. Speed limit signs were either presented on the road or on the speed limit sign boards at the road sides, and a speed camera sign was either present or not. Drivers judged a lower appropriate speed to drive when the camera sign was present than absent, while there was a wider spread of differences between judged and displayed speed when the speed limit sign was presented on the board than on the road. Drivers were quicker in fixating and looked more at the general area in which the speed limit sign appeared. Therefore drivers’ visual attention across scenes may be manipulated by the sign positions. These low-cost interventions could be useful in managing speed choice in Malaysia.     

Ergonomic Design Improves Cross-Cultural Road Sign Comprehension

BackgroundTraffic sign design can have a substantial impact on road safety and traffic flow. The current study had three objectives: 1) Cross-validate the importance of ergonomic sign design; 2) Evaluate the ability of ergonomics experts to predict sign comprehension by the average driver; 3) Offer improved sign designs for poorly designed road signs. In a previous study (Ben Bassat et al., 2019), human factors and ergonomics experts evaluated several alternative designs for 31 different road signs, based on three ergonomics criteria – familiarity, standardization, and message/symbol compatibility. Some of these signs were tested in the current study and the correlation between the results of the two studies was analyzed.MethodIn this study, 805 licensed drivers from five countries were tested on their comprehension of 24 conventional signs and 32 alternative signs. Signs were individually presented on a screen and as soon as the participant decided on the meaning, the sign disappeared, and an experimenter wrote the stated meaning. The verbal responses were coded as correct (perfectly or partially), wrong, or opposite of the true meaning. Sign identification response time was also recorded.ResultsIn all countries across all signs, more drivers comprehended the alternative ergonomically superior signs, and the identification response times were shorter for these sign designs. Furthermore, the correlation between ergonomics experts' ratings as found in previous study and the percent of comprehension for each sign design was statistically significant and positive with r = 0.61.ConclusionsRoad signs should be designed according to ergonomics-based criteria. Human factors experts' opinions can be a useful tool in improving the design of poorly comprehended signs (or icons) and in designing new signs (or icons).     

Analysis of drivers’ behavior under reduced visibility conditions using a Structural Equation Modeling approach

One way to improve safety under reduced visibility conditions (i.e., reduce the chances of visibility related crashes) is to improve drivers’ behavior under such adverse weather conditions. The aim of this paper is to thoroughly examine drivers’ responses under low visibility conditions and quantify the impacts and values of various factors found to be related to drivers’ compliance and drivers’ satisfaction with variable speed limit (VSL) and changeable message signs (CMS) instructions in different visibility, traffic conditions, and on two types of roadways; freeways and two-lane roads.The data used for the analyses were obtained from a self-reported questionnaire survey carried out among 566 drivers in Central Florida, USA. To achieve these goals, Explanatory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approaches were adopted.The results revealed that drivers’ satisfaction with VSL/CMS was the most significant factor that positively affected drivers’ compliance with advice or warning messages displayed on VSL/CMS under different fog conditions followed by human factors. Moreover, it was found that roadway type affected drivers’ compliance to VSL instructions under medium and heavy fog conditions. Furthermore, drivers’ familiarity with VSL and human factors were the significant factors affecting drivers’ satisfaction with VSL/CMS advice under reduced visibility conditions. Based on the findings of the present study, several recommendations are suggested as guidelines to improve drivers’ behavior in such reduced visibility conditions by enhancing drivers’ compliance with VSL/CMS instructions.     

Rudolph Hermann Lotze's philosophically informed psychology

This essay deals with four main topics: the notion of philosophical psychology; the idea that physical events and mental events cannot be compared to one another; psychophysical mechanism; and the theory of local signs. These are all key elements in the Medicinische Psychologie of Rudolph Hermann Lotze (1817‒1881). By philosophical psychology, Lotze understands not only the collection of experimental data regarding physiological and mental states but also their philosophical processing outlining an interpretation of the real nature of the mind‒body connection. Within this framework, Lotze introduces the psychophysical mechanism as based on a key philosophical idea: mind and body are incomparable, but, nevertheless, they are in reciprocal relation (Wechselwirkung). In virtue of said special relation, movements that take place in the mental sphere of reality are transferred or translated in the bodily sphere and vice versa. This rearrangement (Umgestaltung) from one sphere of reality to the other is termed by Lotze “transformation to equivalent.” Through the concept of equivalence, Lotze supports the idea that the mind and the body form an organic whole. However, psychophysical mechanisms should not be seen as not a fixed series of physical changes followed by an equally fixed series of mental changes: physical changes are “read,” organized, and then transformed by the mind into something purely mental. This, in turn, produces new mechanical force and more physical changes. Lotze's legacy and long-term impact is finally read against the background of his contributions.     

中风病简化辨证的哲学思考

中风病分阴证和阳证为纲辨治,不但有是充分的实践依据和理论基础,而且符合哲学的否定之否定定律。从中风病简化辨证的必要性,中风病阴阳辨证的发展,中风病的病因病机、证候属性可从阴阳两方面认识,中风病阴阳为纲辨证方法符合哲学否定之否定定律4方面进行了论述。     

Zur Rekonstruktion der Philosophischen Hermeneutik

Towards a reconstruction of philosophical hermeneutics. Following Nietzsche, Heidegger and, on the other hand, Cassirer and Wittgenstein, a philosophy of interpretation, i.e. a relativism of world-views, is at present increasing in continental as well as in analytical philosophy. From the basis of a critical fallibilism the shortcomings of the new epistemological antirealism are pointed out in general, and, hence, consequences are drawn for the more specialized case of metahermeneutics (hermeneutics being defined as a sort of pragmatical semiotics). A combination of realistic and antirealistic elements is recommended as unevitable. According to this, firstly, the key-concepts of hermeneutics must be differentiated, and, secondly, a fundamental set of criteria can be established that bridges the gap between metahermeneutics and hermeneutical practice.

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Der Artikel führt den überwiegend kritisch gerichteten Beitrag Thesen zur Philosophischen Hermeneutik, Internationale Zeitschrift für Philosophie 1993/1, 173–188 nach der konstruktiven und systematischen Seite hin weiter.     

Acquisition and generalization of manual signs by hearing-impaired adults with mental retardation

Behavioral procedures have been used to teach manual communication skills to individuals with mental retardation, although few studies have examined the assessment of generalization of such skills beyond the teaching environment. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of directed rehearsal for teaching and facilitating the generalization of manual signs by six hearing-impaired adults with mental retardation. The effects of directed rehearsal, alone and combined with positive reinforcement for correct responses, were compared to a no-training control condition in an alternating treatments design. Although directed rehearsal was superior to the no-training control condition in teaching manual signs, the procedure was more effective when combined with positive reinforcement. The combined procedure was used to facilitate the generalization of learned signs across a number of variables. The results showed that there were high levels of generalization by all participants across novel phrases, settings, and trainers but variable levels of generalization to another response mode by some subjects. Further, increased levels in overall vocal communication were found for most participants.     

A dog at the keyboard: using arbitrary signs to communicate requests

As a consequence of domestication, dogs have a special readiness for communication with humans. We here investigate whether a dog might be able to acquire and consistently produce a set of arbitrary signs in her communication with humans, as was demonstrated in “linguistic” individuals of several species. A female mongrel dog was submitted to a training schedule in which, after basic command training and after acquiring the verbal labels of rewarding objects or activities, she learned to ask for such objects or activities by selecting lexigrams and pressing keys on a keyboard. Systematic records taken during spontaneous interaction with one of the experimenters showed that lexigrams were used in an appropriate, intentional way, in accordance with the immediate motivational context. The dog only utilized the keyboard in the experimenter’s presence and gazed to him more frequently after key pressing than before, an indication that lexigram use did have communicative content. Results suggest that dogs may be able to learn a conventional system of signs associated to specific objects and activities, functionally analogous to spontaneous soliciting behaviors and point to the potential fruitfulness of the keyboard/lexigram procedure for studying dog communication and cognition. This is the first report to systematically analyze the learning of arbitrary sign production in dogs. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

道路交通标志中对称结构效应的眼动研究

本研究考察了道路交通标志中路名信息对称结构效应的眼动模式。实验采用眼动跟踪技术和视觉搜索范式,共有16名被试参加。实验结果表明：（1）在对称结构路名信息的视觉搜索中,被试的反应正确率明显优于非对称结构条件下的正确率;（2）对称结构条件下,被试的注视点和回扫次数明显较少,凝视时间明显较短;（3）在以道路交通标志为视觉搜索材料时,搜索区有无路名目标对视觉搜索绩效没有影响。可以认为：在道路交通标志中存在对称结构效应;眼动模式的差异是引起对称结构效应的认知机制。     

奖惩对行为抑制及程序阶段中自主生理反应的影响

采用停止信号任务探讨奖惩条件对行为抑制和程序阶段中自主生理反应的影响。结果显示：(1)奖惩组的反应时显著高于控制组, 抑制失败率则显著低于控制组; (2)奖励组与其它两组相比表现出心率显著增加和皮肤电活动显著降低; (3)各生理指标在准备、工作和奖惩阶段中的奖惩差异性显著(4)奖惩条件下皮肤电活动呈现出一致性程序阶段变化。结果表明：奖惩条件均对行为具有抑制作用, 但在自主生理反应上则有显著差异; 各生理指标在准备、工作和奖惩阶段的情绪效价显著; 皮肤电活动的程序阶段变化显著, 但其奖惩效价较为稳定, 很少接受程序阶段变化的影响。