Developing a framework of effective prevention and response strategies in workplace sexual harassment

Sexual harassment remains a widespread workplace phenomenon, despite laws that proscribe it. Drawing initially on a typology from the violence prevention literature that conceptualizes prevention and response approaches according to when they occur, the paper synthesizes strategies identified in literature addressing workplace sexual harassment, as well as other workplace injustices or grievances. The paper utilizes this previous research to develop a framework of sexual harassment prevention strategies along two dimensions: functions and timing. The framework offers a research-informed set of organization-wide preventative and remedial approaches, a systemic approach to what is often seen as an individual problem, and a means to better focus interventions that are often disparate and unco-ordinated. The paper also highlights important areas for future research including a stronger focus on longer-term (tertiary) corrective actions.

Methodology for developing real-time motorway traffic risk identification models using individual-vehicle data

Most of existing motorway traffic safety studies using disaggregate traffic flow data aim at developing models for identifying real-time traffic risks by comparing pre-crash and non-crash conditions. One of serious shortcomings in those studies is that non-crash conditions are arbitrarily selected and hence, not representative, i.e. selected non-crash data might not be the right data comparable with pre-crash data; the non-crash/pre-crash ratio is arbitrarily decided and neglects the abundance of non-crash over pre-crash conditions; etc. Here, we present a methodology for developing a real-time MotorwaY Traffic Risk Identification Model (MyTRIM) using individual vehicle data, meteorological data, and crash data. Non-crash data are clustered into groups called traffic regimes. Thereafter, pre-crash data are classified into regimes to match with relevant non-crash data. Among totally eight traffic regimes obtained, four highly risky regimes were identified; three regime-based Risk Identification Models (RIM) with sufficient pre-crash data were developed. MyTRIM memorizes the latest risk evolution identified by RIM to predict near future risks. Traffic practitioners can decide MyTRIM’s memory size based on the trade-off between detection and false alarm rates. Decreasing the memory size from 5 to 1 precipitates the increase of detection rate from 65.0% to 100.0% and of false alarm rate from 0.21% to 3.68%. Moreover, critical factors in differentiating pre-crash and non-crash conditions are recognized and usable for developing preventive measures. MyTRIM can be used by practitioners in real-time as an independent tool to make online decision or integrated with existing traffic management systems.

STEM education for sustainable development : a sociotechnical analysis

It is debated that for sustainable STEM education and knowledge investment, human centered learning design approach is critical and important. Sustainability in this context is enduring maintenance of technological trajectories for productive economical and social interactions by demonstrating life critical scenarios through life critical system development and life experiences. Technology influences way of life and the learning and teaching process. Social software application development is more than learning of how to program a software application and extracting information from the Internet. Hence, our research challenge is, how do we attract learners to STEM social software application development? Our realisation processes begin with comparing Science and Technology education in developed (e.g., Australia) and developing (e.g., Sri Lanka) countries with distinction on final year undergraduates’ industry ready training programmes. Principal components analysis was performed to separate patterns of important factors. To measure behavioural intention of perceived usefulness and attitudes of the training, the measurement model was analysed to test its validity and reliability using partial least square (PLS) analysis of structural equation modelling (SEM). Our observation is that the relationship is more complex than we argue for. Our initial conclusions were that life critical system development and life experience trajectories as determinant factors while technological influences were unavoidable. A further investigation should involve correlations between human centered learning design approach and economical development in the long run.