Male and female, cyclist and driver perceptions of crash risk in critical road situations

Male and Female, Cyclist and Driver Perceptions of Crash Risk in Critical Road Situations. Governments are promoting cycling but many Australians, particularly women, do not ride because they perceive it to be too risky. This research compared the risks perceived by female and male, cyclists and drivers in specific on-road situations, accounting for factors such as travel patterns and experience, perceived skill, and risk taking behaviours. Compared to their male counterparts, female cyclists and drivers gave similarly elevated perceptions of risk. These differences are not completely accounted for by cycling patterns or perceptions of skill. Thus, these gender differences are not specific to cycling, but may reflect wider differences in risk perception.

Young drivers' perceptions of road safety messages and a high performance vehicle advertisement : a qualitative exploration

While road safety messages that focus on physical threats have shown some effectiveness, messages that include social threats and gains/rewards may be an alternative approach to encourage safer driving behaviours. In addition to message frame and type, motor vehicle advertising exposure may also influence the persuasiveness of road safety messages. Using qualitative methods this preliminary study explored young drivers’ (N = 17, 11 males) perceptions of the persuasiveness of four anti-speeding messages and a fictional high performance vehicle advertisement. The majority of males perceived the social loss/gain-framed messages to be more persuasive (sense of responsibility and personal relevance themes), whereas females tended to perceive the physical loss/ gain-frame messages (social esteem theme) to be more persuasive. Males appeared to be, while females appeared not to be, persuaded by the vehicle advertisement. The findings suggest that a range of road safety messages may be required to reach and influence young drivers.

Male and female cyclist and driver perceptions of crash risk

Many drivers and non-cyclists perceive cycling as an extremely risky activity with women in particular being concerned about the risk of injury. The low rates of cycling participation by women pose a threat to the achievement of government targets for cycling participation and restrict the potential transport, health and environmental benefits that increased levels of cycling could provide. This study seeks to extend earlier research in gender and cycling by comparing the risks perceived by female and male cyclists and drivers in specific on-road situations while accounting for other potentially gender-related factors such as travel patterns and experience, perceived skill, and risk taking behaviors. In an online survey, 444 regular cyclists and 151 (non-cyclist) car drivers rated the level of risk in six situations: Failing to yield; Going through a red light; Not signaling when turning; Swerving; Tailgating; and Not checking traffic. The study found that the higher levels of risk perceived by women are not completely accounted for by differences in cycling patterns or perceptions of skill. Compared to their male counterparts, female cyclists and car drivers had similarly elevated perceptions of risk suggesting that these gender differences are not specific to cycling, but reflect wider differences in risk perception. Not all of the gender differences were consistent across cyclists and drivers. Higher levels of perceived skill were evident for male cyclists but not for male car drivers. Further research is needed to explore the robustness and interpretation of this finding.

Leadership to support quality improvement in Vietnamese higher education

The impetus for the study reported in this paper is the Higher Education (HE) reform agenda outlined by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training (MOET). The paper reports on phase one of a mixed method research; a quantitative approach using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) to investigate the Vietnamese HE leaders’ leadership styles. The MLQ survey was administered to approximately 190 senior managers in State HE institutions in Mekong Delta region in Vietnam (nine of colleges). The psychometrics of the MLQ for the Vietnamese sample confirmed the reliability and validity of the instrument with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.779. A CFA was conducted and all factor structures were stable and consistent. The demographic variables were used to analyse patterns of leadership behaviours by the different sub-groups. The findings suggest that leaders who have different educational background and different gender in Mekong Delta region, Vietnam do not differ significantly in their perceptions about leadership factors.

The relationship between teachers' perceptions of school leadership and their perceptions of the implementation of the national curriculum

The National Curriculum is a current innovation in Australian schooling history which is likely to have a widespread and long-term impact on schools, teachers and students. This paper has investigated educational change during the early phase of curriculum implementation in a large secondary school, north of Brisbane, Australia. Specifically, this study explored teachers’ perceptions of the principal’s transformational leadership skills during an early stage of the curriculum’s implementation along with teachers’ perceptions of implementing a National Curriculum in their classroom. For this research, sixty-nine teachers were surveyed about their perceptions of their principal’s leadership and their perceptions of the difficulty of implementation of the new curriculum. Findings indicated that teachers with positive perceptions of their principal's leadership also had positive perceptions of their capacity to implement the new National Curriculum. Specifically, teachers who perceived the principal as holding high expectations and providing intellectual stimulation believed they had the capacity to successfully implement curriculum change.

A matter of style? Driver attributional 'style' in accounting for the driving of others as protective or as predisposing drivers towards retaliatory aggressive driving

Driver cognitions about aggressive driving of others are potentially important to the development of evidence-based interventions. Previous research has suggested that perceptions that other drivers are intentionally aggressive may influence recipient driver anger and subsequent aggressive responses. Accordingly, recent research on aggressive driving has attempted to distinguish between intentional and unintentional motives in relation to problem driving behaviours. This study assessed driver cognitive responses to common potentially provocative hypothetical driving scenarios to explore the role of attributions in driver aggression. A convenience sample of 315 general drivers 16–64 yrs (M = 34) completed a survey measuring trait aggression (Aggression Questionnaire AQ), driving anger (Driving Anger Scale, DAS), and a proxy measure of aggressive driving behaviour (Australian Propensity for Angry Driving AusPADS). Purpose designed items asked for drivers’ ‘most likely’ thought in response to AusPADS scenarios. Response options were equivalent to causal attributions about the other driver. Patterns in endorsements of attribution responses to the scenarios suggested that drivers tended to adopt a particular perception of the driving of others regardless of the depicted circumstances: a driving attributional style. No gender or age differences were found for attributional style. Significant differences were detected between attributional styles for driving anger and endorsement of aggressive responses to driving situations. Drivers who attributed the on-road event to the other being an incompetent or dangerous driver had significantly higher driving anger scores and endorsed significantly more aggressive driving responses than those drivers who attributed other driver’s behaviour to mistakes. In contrast, drivers who gave others the ‘benefit of the doubt’ endorsed significantly less aggressive driving responses than either of these other two groups, suggesting that this style is protective.

Students’ perceptions of their own victimization: A youth voice perspective

This article investigates the perceptions of 156 students who were victims of both traditional and cyberbullying (117 female, 45 male), ages 10 to 17 years, as to which form of bullying was more hurtful. Overall, students perceived traditional victimization to be more hurtful than cyber victimization. Reasons identified in the data to explain the different perceptions of victims were categorized and found to relate to: the bully, the bystanders, the bullying incidents, the emotional impact on the victim, and the victim’s ability to respond. The perceptions of these students challenge a number of suppositions presented in the literature that attempt to explain why cyberbullying is associated with more negative outcomes than traditional bullying. The implications for antibullying programs to address these issues are discussed.

Employee perceptions of alcohol and drug policy effectiveness: Policy features, concerns about drug testing, and the key role of preventative measures

As negative employee attitudes towards alcohol and other drug (AOD) policies may have serious consequences for organizations, the present study examined demographic and attitudinal dimensions leading to employees’ perceptions of AOD policy effectiveness. Survey responses were obtained from 147 employees in an Australian agricultural organization. Three dimensions of attitudes towards AOD policies were examined: knowledge of policy features, attitudes towards testing, and preventative measures such as job design and organizational involvement in community health. Demographic differences were identified, with males and blue-collar employees reporting significantly more negative attitudes towards the AOD policy. Attitude dimensions were stronger predictors of perceptions of policy effectiveness than demographics, and the strongest predictor was preventative measures. This suggests that organizations should do more than design adequate and fair AOD policies, and take a more holistic approach to AOD impairment by engaging in workplace design to reduce AOD use and promote a consistent health message to employees and the community.

Preliminary analysis of self-report questionnaire with young drivers in Oman. Fourth report of the novice driver safety research in Oman project for the Research Council of Oman

This report document the recent progress (current as of December 2014) of the research project investigating novice driver safety in Oman. Included in this report is a summary of progress with publications to date, as well as description of the preliminary results of the first phase of the quantitative survey with young drivers. With regards to the publications which have resulted from this research, two journal articles have been published in print, one is under review, and a fourth is in the late stages of development for submission...

Making the transition from pharmacy student to pharmacist: Australian interns' perceptions of professional identity formation

Objectives The experience of transitioning from university to practice influences professional identity formation. It is unclear how this transitioning experience influences pharmacy interns' professional identities. This study aims to examine pharmacy interns' perceptions of their transition from university to the workplace and the influence this had on their pharmacist identities. Methods A qualitative approach using in-depth interviews was adopted for this study. Fifteen interns (community and hospital) from one school of pharmacy in Australia were interviewed. Questions were asked about the nature of their current intern role, their university experiences, how they saw themselves as pharmacists and their perceptions of the transition to practice. Key findings The interns interviewed entered the workplace valuing patient-focused aspects of practice and contributing to patient care. The nature of work meant there were limited opportunities to enact these aspects of their professional identities. The interns were challenged by interactions with patients and doctors, and experienced difficulties reconciling this with their university-derived professional identities. Also, the interns lacked the confidence and strategies to overcome these challenges. Some were exploring alternative ways of being pharmacists. Conclusions This paper argues that graduates' experience of the transition to practice was challenging. This was due to nascent professional identities formed in university and a lack of workplace experiences enabling patient-centred practices. The interns' formation of professional identities was highly responsive to the context of work. To facilitate the development of Australian patient-centred pharmacy practice, supporting professional identity formation should be a focus within pharmacy education.

Using a free online questionnaire to determine the skills, competencies and knowledge required to work in a digital library environment in Australia

This paper discusses the data collection technique used to determine the skills and knowledge required of academic librarians working in a digital library environment in Australia. The research was undertaken as part of the researcher’s master’s thesis conducted at Tallinn University. The data collection instrument used was a freely available online survey tool, and its advantages and disadvantages are discussed in terms of the desired outcomes and circumstances surrounding the thesis project. Decisions regarding the design of the questionnaire are also discussed.

EFL teachers' perceptions and experiences of blended learning in a Vietnamese university

This qualitative study investigates English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' perceptions and practices of blended learning in a Vietnamese university and influencing factors. Findings revealed that teachers have limited understandings and use of blended learning due to three primary influential factors: (i) the traditional teacher-centred pedagogy, (ii) institutional management and leadership styles, and (iii) fragmented knowledge of technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) for blended learning. To improve the take up and potential benefits of blended learning in EFL education in Vietnamese universities, this study proposes (i) a systematic understanding of blended learning concepts, (ii) a localised TPACK framework, and (iii) a model of teacher professional development program.

Nursing and medical perceptions of a hospital rapid response system: New process but same old game?

Perhaps no other patient safety intervention depends so acutely on effective interprofessional teamwork for patient survival than the hospital rapid response system (RRS). Yet little is known about nurse-physician relationships when rescuing at-risk patients. This study compared nursing and medical staff perceptions of a mature RRS at a large tertiary hospital. Findings indicate the RRS may be failing to address a hierarchical culture and systems-level barriers to early recognition and response to patient deterioration.

International students' perceptions of their experience of higher education in Australia: A focus on Saudi Arabian students in their first year of a business course in a major Australian university

This study examined perceptions of international students from Saudi Arabia living and studying in Australia. As a qualitative study that featured case study methodology, the thesis discusses the experiences of Saudi Arabian students in the light of two important factors: students' expectations prior to coming to Australia and the impact of intercultural competency on students' experiences. The study found that while study participants reported mostly positive experiences, there were challenges faced such as coping with English language and culture shock. The thesis culminates in a comprehensive list of implications for educators in the light of the study's findings.