Comparison of self-reported driving behaviours and experiences of immediate-uptake and delayed-uptake licence holders

The objective of this paper was to explore experiences of ‘immediate-uptake’ (intermediate licensure at age 17-18 years, n = 928) and ‘delayed-uptake’ (intermediate licensure at age 19-20 years, n = 158) driver’s licence holders in the Australian state of Queensland. In Queensland, the graduated driver licence program applies to all novices irrespective of age. Drivers who obtained a Provisional 1 (intermediate) (P1) licence completed a survey exploring pre-Licence and Learner experiences, including the Behaviour of Young Novice Drivers Scale (BYNDS). Six months later, 351 drivers from this sample (n = 300 immediate-uptake) completed a survey exploring P1 driving. Delayed-uptake Learners reported significantly more difficulty gaining driving practice, which appeared to be associated with significantly greater engagement in unsupervised driving during the Learner period. Whilst a larger proportion of delayed-uptake novices, particularly males, reported the use of more active punishment avoidance strategies (avoiding Police, talking themselves out of a ticket) in the P1 phase, there was no significant difference in the BYNDS scores in the Learner and P1 phases according to licence-uptake category. Delayed-uptake novices report more difficulty meeting GDL requirements and place themselves at increased risk by driving unsupervised during the Learner licence phase. Additional efforts such as mentoring programs which can support the delayed-uptake Learner in meeting their GDL obligations merit further consideration to allow this novice group to gain the full benefits of the GDL program and to reduce their risk of harm in the short-term.

A comparison of perceived crash risk among cyclists and drivers in Brisbane

The Queensland Government has implemented strategies promoting a shift from individual car use to active transport, a transition which requires drivers to adapt to sharing the road with increased numbers of people cycling through transport network. For this to occur safely, changes in both road infrastructure and road user expectations and behaviors will be needed. Creating separate cycle infrastructure does not remove the need for cyclists to commence, cross or finish travel on shared roads. Currently intersections are one of the predominant shared road spaces where crashes result in cyclists being injured or killed. This research investigates how Brisbane cyclists and drivers perceive risk when interacting with other road users at intersections. The current study replicates a French study conducted by co-authors Chaurand and Delhomme in 2011 and extends it to assess gender effects which have been reported in other Australian cycling research. An online survey was administered to experienced cyclists and drivers. Participants rated the level of risk they felt when imagining a number of different road situations. Based on the earlier French study it is expected that perceived crash risk will be influenced both by the participant’s mode of travel and the type of interacting vehicle and perceived risk will be greater when the interaction is with a car than a bicycle. It is predicted that risk perception will decrease as the level of experience increases and that male participants will have a higher perception of skill and lower perception of risk than females. The findings of this Queensland study will provide a valuable insight into perceived risk and the traffic behaviours of drivers and cyclists when interacting with other road users and results will be available for presentation at the Congress.

A new framework of measuring national nutrients balance for international and global comparison

Nutrients balance such as nitrogen and phosphorus balance are increasingly used as an indicator of the environmental performance of agricultural sector in international and global context. However there still is a lack of harmony in the use of methods for estimating the nutrients balance among countries. This is because of the disagreement regarding the accuracy and uncertainty of different accounting methods. The lack of harmony in the methods used in different countries further increases the uncertainty in the context of the international comparisons. This paper provides a new framework for nutrients balance calculation using the farm-gate accounting method. The calculation under this new framework takes advantage of availability of data from FAO and other reliable national and international sources. Due to this, the proposed framework is highly adaptable in many countries, making the global comparison feasible. The paper also proposes three criteria including adaptability, accuracy and interpretability to assess the appropriateness of nutrients accounting method. Based on these criteria, the paper provides a comprehensive comparison of the farm-gate and soil-surface methods in accounting country-level nutrients balance of agricultural production. The paper identifies some shortcomings of the soil-surface balance and shows that the farm-gate method has a greater potential of providing a more accurate and meaningful estimation of national nutrients balance.

Dimensions of short break destination attractiveness : a comparison of cognitive, affective and conative perceptions

Although there has been exponential growth in the number of studies of destination image appearing in the tourism literature, few have addressed the role of affective perceptions. This paper analyses the market positions held by a competitive set of destinations, through a comparison of cognitive, affective and conative perceptions. Cognitive perceptions were measured by trialling a factor analytic adaptation of importance-performance analysis. Affective perceptions were measured using an affective response grid. The alignment of the results from these techniques identified leadership positions held by two quite different destinations on two quite different dimensions of short break destination attractiveness.

Infrared and Raman spectroscopic characterization of the phosphate mineral kosnarite KZr2(PO4)3 in comparison with other pegmatitic phosphates

In this research, we have used vibrational spectroscopy to study the phosphate mineral kosnarite KZr2(PO4)3. Interest in this mineral rests with the ability of zirconium phosphates (ZP) to lock in radioactive elements. ZP have the capacity to concentrate and immobilize the actinide fraction of radioactive phases in homogeneous zirconium phosphate phases. The Raman spectrum of kosnarite is characterized by a very intense band at 1,026 cm−1 assigned to the symmetric stretching vibration of the PO4 3− ν1 symmetric stretching vibration. The series of bands at 561, 595 and 638 cm−1 are assigned to the ν4 out-of-plane bending modes of the PO4 3− units. The intense band at 437 cm−1 with other bands of lower wavenumber at 387, 405 and 421 cm−1 is assigned to the ν2 in-plane bending modes of the PO4 3− units. The number of bands in the antisymmetric stretching region supports the concept that the symmetry of the phosphate anion in the kosnarite structure is preserved. The width of the infrared spectral profile and its complexity in contrast to the well-resolved Raman spectrum show that the pegmatitic phosphates are better studied with Raman spectroscopy.

Urban renewal, migration and memories : the affordances of place-based pedagogies for developing immigrant students’ literate repertoires

This paper reports on the new literacy demands in the middle years of schooling project in which the affordances of placed-based pedagogy are being explored through teacher inquiries and classroom-based design experiments. The school is located within a large-scale urban renewal project in which houses are being demolished and families relocated. The original school buildings have recently been demolished and replaced by a large ‘superschool’ which serves a bigger student population from a wider area. Drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data, the teachers reported that the language literacy learning of students (including a majority of students learning English as a second language) involved in the project exceeded their expectations. The project provided the motivation for them to develop their oral language repertoires, by involving them in processes such as conducting interviews with adults for their oral histories, through questioning the project manager in regular meetings, and through reporting to their peers and the wider community at school assemblies. At the same time students’ written and multimodal documentation of changes in the neighbourhood and the school grounds extended their literate and semiotic repertoires as they produced books, reports, films, powerpoints, visual designs and models of structures.

An infrared spectroscopic comparison of four Chinese palygorskites

Infrared spectroscopy has been used to characterize and compare four palygorskite mineral samples from China. The position of the main bands identified by infrared spectra is similar, but there are some differences in intensity, which are significant. In addition, several additional bands are observed in the spectra of palygorskite and their impurities. This variability is attributed to differences in the geological environment, such as the degree of weathering and the extent of transportation of the minerals during formation or deposition, and the impurity content in these palygorskites. The bands of water and hydroxyl groups in these spectra of palygorskite samples have been studied. The characteristic band of palygorskite is observed at 1195 cm�1. Another four bands observed at 3480, 3380, 3266 and 3190 cm�1 are attributed to the water molecules in the palygorskite structure. These results suggest that the infrared spectra of palygorskites mineral from different regions are decided not only by the main physicochemical properties of palygorskite, but also by the amount and kind of impurities.

A comparison of Chinese and Australian early childhood mathematics

In the 21st century mathematics proficiency is synonymous with a numerate citizenry. In the past few decades young children’s ability to reason mathematically and develop mathematical proficiencies has been recognised. This paper explores the history of early childhood mathematics (ECME) that may explicate differences in Chinese and Australian contexts. Results of this review established that China and Australia are diametrically positioned in ECME. Influencing each countries philosophies and practices are their cultural beliefs. ECME in China and Australia must be culturally sustainable to achieve excellent outcomes for young children. Ongoing critique and review is necessary to ensure that ECME is meeting the needs of all teachers and children in their particular context. China and Australia with their rich contrasting philosophies can assist each other in their journeys to create exemplary ECME for the 21st century.

Ventilation distribution in rats : part 2 – a comparison of electrical impedance tomography and hyperpolarised helium magnetic resonance imaging

Background: Hyperpolarised helium MRI (He3 MRI) is a new technique that enables imaging of the air distribution within the lungs. This allows accurate determination of the ventilation distribution in vivo. The technique has the disadvantages of requiring an expensive helium isotope, complex apparatus and moving the patient to a compatible MRI scanner. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) a non-invasive bedside technique that allows constant monitoring of lung impedance, which is dependent on changes in air space capacity in the lung. We have used He3MRI measurements of ventilation distribution as the gold standard for assessment of EIT. Methods: Seven rats were ventilated in supine, prone, left and right lateral position with 70% helium/30% oxygen for EIT measurements and pure helium for He3 MRI. The same ventilator and settings were used for both measurements. Image dimensions, geometric centre and global in homogeneity index were calculated. Results: EIT images were smaller and of lower resolution and contained less anatomical detail than those from He3 MRI. However, both methods could measure positional induced changes in lung ventilation, as assessed by the geometric centre. The global in homogeneity index were comparable between the techniques. Conclusion: EIT is a suitable technique for monitoring ventilation distribution and inhomgeneity as assessed by comparison with He3 MRI.

Average travel time estimations for urban routes that consider exit turning movements

This paper presents a methodology for real-time estimation of exit movement-specific average travel time on urban routes by integrating real-time cumulative plots, probe vehicles, and historic cumulative plots. Two approaches, component based and extreme based, are discussed for route travel time estimation. The methodology is tested with simulation and is validated with real data from Lucerne, Switzerland, that demonstrate its potential for accurate estimation. Both approaches provide similar results. The component-based approach is more reliable, with a greater chance of obtaining a probe vehicle in each interval, although additional data from each component is required. The extreme-based approach is simple and requires only data from upstream and downstream of the route, but the chances of obtaining a probe that traverses the entire route might be low. The performance of the methodology is also compared with a probe-only method. The proposed methodology requires only a few probes for accurate estimation; the probe-only method requires significantly more probes.

Timed Up and Go Tests in cardiac rehabilitation : reliability and comparison with the 6-minute walk test

PURPOSE: To test the reliability of Timed Up and Go Tests (TUGTs) in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) and compare TUGTs to the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) for outcome measurement. METHODS: Sixty-one of 154 consecutive community-based CR patients were prospectively recruited. Subjects undertook repeated TUGTs and 6MWTs at the start of CR (start-CR), postdischarge from CR (post-CR), and 6 months postdischarge from CR (6 months post-CR). The main outcome measurements were TUGT time (TUGTT) and 6MWT distance (6MWD). RESULTS: Mean (SD) TUGTT1 and TUGTT2 at the 3 assessments were 6.29 (1.30) and 5.94 (1.20); 5.81 (1.22) and 5.53 (1.09); and 5.39 (1.60) and 5.01 (1.28) seconds, respectively. A reduction in TUGTT occurred between each outcome point (P ≤ .002). Repeated TUGTTs were strongly correlated at each assessment, intraclass correlation (95% CI) = 0.85 (0.76–0.91), 0.84 (0.73–0.91), and 0.90 (0.83–0.94), despite a reduction between TUGTT1 and TUGTT2 of 5%, 5%, and 7%, respectively (P ≤ .006). Relative decreases in TUGTT1 (TUGTT2) occurred from start-CR to post-CR and from start-CR to 6 months post-CR of −7.5% (−6.9%) and −14.2% (−15.5%), respectively, while relative increases in 6MWD1 (6MWD2) occurred, 5.1% (7.2%) and 8.4% (10.2%), respectively (P < .001 in all cases). Pearson correlation coefficients for 6MWD1 to TUGTT1 and TUGTT2 across all times were −0.60 and −0.68 (P < .001) and the intraclass correlations (95% CI) for the speeds derived from averaged 6MWDs and TUGTTs were 0.65 (0.54, 0.73) (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Similar relative changes occurred for the TUGT and the 6MWT in CR. A significant correlation between the TUGTT and 6MWD was demonstrated, and we suggest that the TUGT may provide a related or a supplementary measurement of functional capacity in CR.

Editorial : forecasting urban air quality

Air pollution has significant impacts on both the environment and human health. Therefore, urban areas have received ever growing attention, because they not only have the highest concentrations of air pollutants, but they also have the highest human population. In modern societies, urban air quality (UAQ) is routinely evaluated and local authorities provide regular reports to the public about current UAQ levels. Both local and international authorities also recommended that some air pollutant concentrations remain below a certain level, with the aim of reducing emissions and improving the air quality, both in urban areas and on a more regional scale. In some countries, protocols aimed at reducing emissions have come in force as a result of international agreements.

Characterising nutrients wash-off for effective urban stormwater treatment design

This paper characterises nitrogen and phosphorus wash-off processes on urban road surfaces to create fundamental knowledge to strengthen stormwater treatment design. The study outcomes confirmed that the composition of initially available nutrients in terms of their physical association with solids and chemical speciation determines the wash-off characteristics. Nitrogen and phosphorus wash-off processes are independent of land use, but there are notable differences. Nitrogen wash-off is a “source limiting” process while phosphorus wash-off is “transport limiting”. Additionally, a clear separation between nitrogen and phosphorus wash-off processes based on dissolved and particulate forms confirmed that the common approach of replicating nutrients wash-off based on solids wash-off could lead to misleading outcomes particularly in the case of nitrogen. Nitrogen is present primarily in dissolved and organic form and readily removed even by low intensity rainfall events, which is an important consideration for nitrogen removal targeted treatment design. In the case of phosphorus, phosphate constitutes the primary species in wash-off for the particle size fraction <75 µm, while other species are predominant in particle size range >75 µm. This means that phosphorus removal targeted treatment design should consider both phosphorus speciation as well as particle size.