Investigation into travel modes of TOD users : impacts of personal and transit characteristics

Transit Oriented Developments (TODs) are often designed to promote the use of sustainable modes of transport and reduce car usage. This paper investigates the effect of personal and transit characteristics on travel choices of TOD users. Binary logistic regression models were developed to determine the probability of choosing sustainable modes of transport including walking, cycling and public transport. Kelvin Grove Urban Village (KGUV) located in Brisbane, Australia was chosen as case study TOD. The modal splits for employees, students, shoppers and residents showed that 47% of employees, 84% of students, 71% of shoppers and 56% of residents used sustainable modes of transport.

Design for inspiration : children, personal connections and educational technology

The project is working towards building an understanding of the personal interests and experiences of children with the aim of designing appropriate, usable and, most importantly, inspirational educational technology. kidprobe, an adaptation of the technology probe concept, has been used as a lightweight method of gaining contextual information about children's interactions with 'fun' technology. kidprobe has produced design inspiration which focuses primarily on the social and emotional connections children made. The use of kidprobe has generated some important ideas for improving the use of probes with children. It is an important first step in understanding how to effectively adapt probing techniques to inspire the design of technology for children.

Using GIS to visualise and evaluate student travel behaviour

Using GIS to evaluate travel behaviour is an important technique to increase our understanding of the relationship between accessibility and transport demand. In this paper, the activity space concept was used to identify the nature of participation in activities (or lack of it) amongst a group of students using a 2 day travel-activity diary. Three different indicators such as the number of unique locations visited, average daily distance travelled, and average daily activity duration were used to measure the size of activity spaces. These indicators reflect levels of accessibility, personal mobility, and the extent of participation respectively. Multiple regression analyses were used to assess the impacts of students socio-economic status and the spatial characteristics of home location. Although no differences were found in the levels of accessibility and the extent of participation measures, home location with respect to a demand responsive transport (DRT) service was found to be the most important determinant of their mobility patterns. Despite being able to travel longer distances, students who live outside of the DRT service area were found to be temporally excluded from some opportunities. Student activity spaces were also visualised within a GIS environment and a spatial analysis was conducted to underpin the evaluation of the performance of the DRT. This approach was also used to identify the activity spaces of individuals that are geographically excluded from the service. Evaluation of these results indicated that although the service currently covers areas of high demand, 90% of the activity spaces remained un-served by the DRT service. Using this data six new routes were designed to meet the coverage goal of public transport based on a measure of network impedance based on inverse activity density. Following assessment of public transport service coverage, the study was extended using a Spatial Multi Criteria Evaluation (SMCE) technique to assess the effect of service provision on patronage.

Participation index : a measure to identify rural transport disadvantage?

This paper develops a composite participation index (PI) to identify patterns of transport disadvantage in space and time. It is operationalised using 157 weekly activity-travel diaries data collected from three case study areas in rural Northern Ireland. A review of activity space and travel behaviour research found that six dimensional indicators of activity spaces were typically used including the number of unique locations visited, distance travelled, area of activity spaces, frequency of activity participation, types of activity participated in, and duration of participation in order to identify transport disadvantage. A combined measure using six individual indices were developed based on the six dimensional indicators of activity spaces, by taking into account the relativity of the measures for weekdays, weekends, and for a week. Factor analyses were conducted to derive weights of these indices to form the PI measure. Multivariate analysis using general linear models of the different indicators/indices identified new patterns of transport disadvantage. The research found that: indicator based measures and index based measures are complement each other; interactions between different factors generated new patterns of transport disadvantage; and that these patterns vary in space and time. The analysis also indicates that the transport needs of different disadvantaged groups are varied.

Participation index : improved measure of transport related social exclusion?

Although transport related social exclusion has been identified through zonal accessibility measures in the recent past, the debate has shifted from zonal to individual level measures. One way to identify disadvantaged individuals is to measure their size of participation in society (activity spaces). After reviewing existing literature, this paper has found two approaches to measure the activity spaces. One approach is based on the time-geographic potential path area (PPA) concept. The size of the PPA has largely been used as an indicator to the size of potential activity spaces and consequently individual accessibility. The limitations of the PPA concept have been identified in this paper and it is argued cannot be applied as a measure of social exclusion. The other approach is based on individuals’ actual travel activity participation called actual activity spaces. The size of actual activity spaces possesses a good potential measure of social exclusion. However, the indicators to measure the size of actual activity spaces are multidimensional representing the different aspects of social exclusion. The development of a unified approach has therefore been found to be important. This paper has developed a participation index (PI) using the different dimensions of actual activity spaces encountered. A framework has also been developed to operationalise the concept in GIS. The framework, on the one hand, will visualize individuals’ actual travel behaviour in real geographic space; on the other hand, it will calculate the size of their participation in society.

Wellness education : an integrated theoretical framework for fostering transformative learning

Optimum Wellness involves the development, refinement and practice of lifestyle choices which resonate with personally meaningful frames of reference. Personal transformations are the means by which our frames of reference are refined across the lifespan. It is through critical reflection, supportive relationships and meaning making of our experiences that we construct and reconstruct our life paths. When individuals are able to be what they are destined to be or reach their higher purpose, then they are able to contribute to the world in positive and meaningful ways. Transformative education facilitates the changes in perspective that enable one to contemplate and travel a path in life that leads to self-actualisation. This thesis argues for an integrated theoretical framework for optimum Wellness Education. It establishes a learner centred approach to Wellness education in the form of an integrated instructional design framework derived from both Wellness and Transformative education constructs. Students’ approaches to learning and their study strategies in a Wellness education context serve to highlight convergences in the manner in which students can experience perspective transformation. As they learn to critically reflect, pursue relationships and adapt their frames of reference to sustain their pursuit of both learning and Wellness goals, strengthening the nexus between instrumental and transformative learning is a strategically important goal for educators. The aim of this exploratory research study was to examine those facets that serve to optimise the learning experiences of students in a Wellness course. This was accomplished through three research issues: 1) What are the relationships between Wellness, approaches to learning and academic success? 2) How are students approaching learning in an undergraduate Wellness subject? Why are students approaching their learning in the ways they do? 3) What sorts of transformations are students experiencing in their Wellness? How can transformative education be formulated in the context of an undergraduate Wellness subject? Subsequent to a thorough review of the literature pertaining to Wellness education, a mixed method embedded case study design was formulated to explore the research issues. This thesis examines the interrelationships between student, content and context in a one semester university undergraduate unit (a coherent set of learning activities which is assigned a unit code and a credit point value). The experiences of a cohort of 285 undergraduate students in a Wellness course formed the unit of study and seven individual students from a total of sixteen volunteers whose profiles could be constructed from complete data sets were selected for analysis as embedded cases. The introductory level course required participants to engage in a personal project involving a behaviour modification plan for a self-selected, single dimension of Wellness. Students were given access to the Standard Edition Testwell Survey to assess and report their Wellness as a part of their personal projects. To identify relationships among the constructs of Self-Regulated Learning (SRL), Wellness and Student Approaches to Learning (SAL) a blend of quantitative and qualitative methods to collect and analyse data was formulated. Surveys were the primary instruments for acquiring quantitative data. Sources included the Wellness data from Testwell surveys, SAL data from R-SPQ surveys, SRL data from MSLQ surveys and student self-evaluation data from an end of semester survey. Students’ final grades and GPA scores were used as indicators of academic performance. The sources of qualitative data included subject documentation, structured interview transcripts and open-ended responses to survey items. Subsequent to a pilot study in which survey reliability and validity were tested in context, amendments to processes for and instruments of data collection were made. Students who adopted meaning oriented (deep/achieving) approaches tended to assess their Wellness at a higher level, seek effective learning strategies and perform better in formal study. Posttest data in the main study revealed that there were significant positive statistical relationships between academic performance and total wellness scores (rs=.297, n=205, p<.01). Deep (rs=.343, n=137, p<.01) and achieving (rs=.286, n=123, p<.01) approaches to learning also significantly correlated with Wellness whilst surface approaches had negative correlations that were not significant. SRL strategies including metacognitive selfregulation, effort, help-seeking and critical thinking were increasingly correlated with Wellness. Qualitative findings suggest that while all students adopt similar patterns of day to day activities for example attending classes, taking notes, working on assignments the level of care with which these activities is undertaken varies considerably. The dominant motivational trigger for students in this cohort was the personal relevance and associated benefits of the material being learned and practiced. Students were inclined to set goals that had a positive impact on affect and used “sense of happiness” to evaluate their achievement status. Students who had a higher drive to succeed and/or understand tended to have or seek a wider range of strategies. Their goal orientations were generally learning rather than performance based and barriers presented a challenge which could be overcome as opposed to a blockage which prevented progress. Findings from an empirical analysis of the Testwell data suggest that a single third order Wellness construct exists. A revision of the instrument is necessary in order to juxtapose it with the chosen six dimensional Wellness model that forms the foundation construct in the course. Further, redevelopment should be sensitive to the Australian context and culture including choice of language, examples and scenarios used in item construction. This study concludes with an heuristic for use in Wellness education. Guided by principles of Transformative education theory and behaviour change theory, and informed by this representative case study the “CARING” heuristic is proposed as an instructional design tool for Wellness educators seeking to foster transformative learning. Based upon this study, recommendations were made for university educators to provide authentic and personal experiences in Wellness curricula. Emphasis must focus on involving students and teachers in a partnership for implementing Wellness programs both in the curriculum and co-curricularly. The implications of this research for practice are predicated on the willingness of academics to embrace transformative learning at a personal level and a professional one. To explore students’ profiles in detail is not practical however teaching students how to guide us in supporting them through the “pain” of learning is a skill which would benefit them and optimise the learning and teaching process. At a theoretical level, this research contributes to an ecological theory of Wellness education as transformational change. By signposting the wider contexts in which learning takes place, it seeks to encourage changing paradigms to ones which harness the energy of each successive contextual layer in which students live. Future research which amplifies the qualities of individuals and groups who are “Well” and seeks the refinement and development of instruments to measure Wellness constructs would be desirable for both theoretical and applied knowledge bases. Mixed method Wellness research derived and conducted by teams that incorporate expertise from multiple disciplines such as psychology, anthropology, education, and medicine would enable creative and multi-perspective programs of investigation to be designed and implemented. Congruences and inconsistencies in health promotion and education would provide valuable material for strengthening the nexus between transformational learning and behaviour change theories. Future development of and research on the effectiveness of the CARING heuristic would be valuable in advancing the understanding of pedagogies which advance rather than impede learning as a transformative process. Exploring pedagogical models that marry with transformative education may render solutions to the vexing challenge of teaching and learning in diverse contexts.

Changing personal epistemologies in early childhood pre-service teachers using an integrated teaching program

This study investigated changes in pre-service teachers’ personal epistemologies as they engaged in an integrated teaching program. Personal epistemology refers to individual beliefs about the nature of knowing and knowledge and has been shown to influence teaching practice. An integrated approach to teaching, based on both an implicit and explicit focus on personal epistemology, was developed by an academic team within a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood). The teaching program integrated content across four units of study, modelling personal epistemologies implicitly through collaborative reflexive practice. The students were also required to engage in explicit reflections on their personal epistemologies. Quantitative measures of personal epistemology were collected at the beginning and end of the semester using the Epistemological Beliefs Survey (EBS) to assess changes across the teaching period. Results indicated that pre-service teachers’ epistemological beliefs about the integration of knowledge became more sophisticated over the course of the teaching period. Qualitative data included pre-service teachers’ responses to open ended questions and field experience journal reflections about their perceptions of the teaching program and were collected at the end of the semester. These data showed that pre-service teachers held different conceptions about learning as integration, which provided a more nuanced understanding of the EBS data. Understanding pre-service teachers’ epistemological beliefs provides promising directions for teacher preparation and professional enrichment.

Personal epistemology and teacher education

A growing body of personal epistemology research shows that personal epistemologies influence student learning, particularly in academic contexts. However, we know little about how personal epistemologies relate to teaching, and even less about teacher education. This introductory chapter sets the stage for this book which brings together a range of international researchers in the field of personal epistemology, teaching, and teacher education. This introductory chapter explores personal epistemology as a construct in the field of teaching and teacher education. In particular, it focuses on teacher education a one contextual influence on personal epistemologies by exploring the nature of teachers' personal epistemologies, teachers' personal epistemologies and learning, teachers' personal epistemologies and teaching, and changing personal epistemology in teacher education programs.

The Cannabis Expectancy Questionnaire for Men who have Sex with Men (CEQ-MSM): A measure of substance-related beliefs

Objective Substance-related expectancies are associated with substance use and post-substance use thoughts, feelings and behaviours. The expectancies held by specific cultural or sub-cultural groups have rarely been investigated. This research maps expectancies specific to gay and other men who have sex with men (MSM) and their relationship with substance patterns and behaviours following use, including sexual practices (e.g., unprotected anal intercourse). This study describes the development of a measure of such beliefs for cannabis, the Cannabis Expectancy Questionnaire for Men who have Sex with Men (CEQ-MSM). Method Items selected through a focus group and interviews were piloted on 180 self-identified gay or other MSM via an online questionnaire. Results Factor analysis revealed six distinct substance reinforcement domains (“Enhanced sexual experience”, “Sexual negotiation”, “Cognitive impairment”, “Social and emotional facilitation”, “Enhanced sexual desire”, and “Sexual inhibition”). The scale was associated with consumption patterns of cannabis, and in a crucial test of discriminant validity not with the consumption of alcohol or stimulants. Conclusions The CEQ-MSM represents a reliable and valid measure of outcome expectancies, related to cannabis among MSM. Future applications of the CEQ-MSM in health promotion, clinical settings and research may contribute to reducing harm associated with substance use among MSM, including HIV transmission.

Development and validation of a questionnaire designed to measure foot-health status

The aim of this study was to apply the principles of content, criterion, and construct validation to a new questionnaire specifically designed to measure foot-health status. One hundred eleven subjects completed two different questionnaires designed to measure foot health (the new Foot Health Status Questionnaire and the previously validated Foot Function Index) and underwent a clinical examination in order to provide data for a second-order confirmatory factor analysis. Presented herein is a psychometrically evaluated questionnaire that contains 13 items covering foot pain, foot function, footwear, and general foot health. The tool demonstrates a high degree of content, criterion, and construct validity and test-retest reliability.

Using Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors to measure vertical displacements of bridges : a preliminary study

In many bridges, vertical displacements are the most relevant parameter for monitoring in the both short and long term. However, it is difficult to measure vertical displacements of bridges and yet they are among the most important indicators of structural behaviour. Therefore, it prompts a need to develop a simple, inexpensive and yet more practical method to measure vertical displacements of bridges. With the development of fiber-optics technologies, fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors have been widely used in structural health monitoring. The advantages of these sensors over the conventional sensors include multiplexing capabilities, high sample rate, small size and electro magnetic interference (EMI) immunity. In this paper, methods of vertical displacement measurements of bridges are first reviewed. Then, FBG technology is briefly introduced including principle, sensing system, characteristics and different types of FBG sensors. Finally, the methodology of vertical displacement measurements using FBG sensors is presented and a trial test is described. It is concluded that using FBG sensors is feasible to measure vertical displacements of bridges. This method can be used to understand global behaviour of bridge‘s span and can further develop for structural health monitoring techniques such as damage detection.

Teachers' personal epistemologies and teacher education : emergent themes and future research

This chapter summarizes the responses to four questions in each of the chapters in this volume. The questions addressed the use of a conceptual framework that guides the chapter, issues of domain-generality, how personal epistemology relates to teaching, and how personal epistemologies change. We concluded that all of the chapters discussed the distinction between constructivist and transmission teaching practices, while suggesting that there are many inconsistencies in understanding the relationship between the nature of beliefs and teachers’ practices regardless of the relative sophistication of teachers’ personal epistemologies. We also summarized a multi-component instructional model for calibrating teaching practices based on suggestions in each of the chapters, and made four suggestions for future research, including the need for an integrated theory that accounts for the development and manifestations of personal pistemology in the classroom, the generalizability of fi ndings across different measurements, a set of guidelines to promote teacher epistemological change, and an explicit instructional model that explains the development and calibration of beliefs and practices. The goal of this volume was to examine the relationship between teachers’ personal epistemologies and teacher education. Sixteen different chapters addressed one or more aspects of this issue. Although each of the chapters addressed different aspects of teachers’ personal epistemologies, a number of common themes are apparent across the chapters. We believe it is useful to articulate these themes in greater detail to provide a better retrospective understanding of this volume, as well as a better prospective framework for future research and changes to teacher training programs. We divide this chapter into two main sections. The fi rst section addresses four key questions about the nature of teachers’ personal epistemologies that were discussed in the introductory chapter as part of a larger set of questions. These questions focus on how to conceptualize these beliefs as explicit models; whether beliefs are domain-specifi c or domain-general; how beliefs are related to teaching; and how beliefs change over time. We provide a summary of each chapter in terms of these four questions. The second section proposes four general suggestions for future research based on the studies reported within this volume.