Risky attitudes towards road use in pre-drivers

Motor vehicle accidents are one of the principal causes of adolescent disability or mortality and male drivers are more likely to be involved in road accidents than female drivers. In part such associations between driver age and sex have been linked to differences in risky behaviour (e.g. speed, violations) and individual characteristics (e.g. sensation seeking, deviant behaviour). The aim of this research is to determine whether associations between risky road user behaviour and individual characteristics are a function of driver behaviour or whether they are intrinsic and measurable in individuals too young to drive. Five hundred and sixty-seven pre-driver students aged 11-16 from three secondary schools completed questionnaires measuring enthusiasm for speed, sensation seeking, deviant behaviour and attitudes towards driver violations. Boys reported more risky attitudes than girls for all measures. Associations between sensation seeking, deviant behaviour and attitudes towards risky road use were present from early adolescence and were strongest around age 14, before individuals learn to drive. Risky attitudes towards road use are associated with individual characteristics and are observed in adolescents long before they learn to drive. Safe attitudes towards road use and driver behaviour should be promoted from childhood in order to be effective. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Climate model calculations of the impact of aerosols from road transport and shipping

Road transport and shipping are copious sources of aerosols, which exert a 9 significant radiative forcing, compared to, for example, the CO2 emitted by these sectors. An 10 advanced atmospheric general circulation model, coupled to a mixed-layer ocean, is used to 11 calculate the climate response to the direct radiative forcing from such aerosols. The cases 12 considered include imposed distributions of black carbon and sulphate aerosols from road 13 transport, and sulphate aerosols from shipping; these are compared to the climate response 14 due to CO2 increases. The difficulties in calculating the climate response due to small 15 forcings are discussed, as the actual forcings have to be scaled by large amounts to enable a 16 climate response to be easily detected. Despite the much greater geographical inhomogeneity 17 in the sulphate forcing, the patterns of zonal and annual-mean surface temperature response 18 (although opposite in sign) closely resembles that resulting from homogeneous changes in 19 CO2. The surface temperature response to black carbon aerosols from road transport is shown 20 to be notably non-linear in scaling applied, probably due to the semi-direct response of clouds 21 to these aerosols. For the aerosol forcings considered here, the most widespread method of 22 calculating radiative forcing significantly overestimates their effect, relative to CO2, 23 compared to surface temperature changes calculated using the climate model.

Steering across scales: applying Strategic-Relational Approach to a study of land mobilisation for road widening in Kochi

This paper argues for the relevance of paying attention to structuring participation processes across scales as one of the ways in which participation of multi-organisational partnerships that involve conflicting interests might be managed. Issue wise the paper deals with problems in connection with land mobilisation for road widening in complex and concentrated high value urban settings. It discusses a case study of plan implementation involving individual landowners, the land development market, the local government, other governmental and non-governmental organisations and the state government, which together achieved objectives that seemed impossible at first sight. In theoretical terms, the paper engages with Jessop's (2001) Strategic-Relational Approach (SRA), arguing for its potential for informing action in a way that is capable of achieving steering outputs. The claim for SRA is demonstrated by re-examining the case study. The factors that come through as SRA is applied are drawn out and it is suggested that the theory though non-deterministic, helps guide action by highlighting certain dynamics of systems that can be used for institutional intervention. These dynamics point to the importance of paying attention to scale and the way in which participation and negotiation processes are structured so as to favour certain outcomes rather than others

British railways and the challenge from road haulage: 1919-39

Interwar Britain witnessed the rapid rise of road transport as a serious competitor to the railways. This article examines road–rail competition for freight traffic. It demonstrates that, contrary to previous accounts—which have been highly critical of the railway companies—their failure to prevent rapid loss of traffic to the roads was the inevitable consequence of the regulatory framework under which the railways had been returned to private control in 1921. Given the constraints imposed by this framework, price competition with road hauliers would have further depressed railway company profits. Railway policy thus concentrated on pressing for a revision of the legislative framework governing road–rail competition.

The road not taken: observing a process of issue selection and model conceptualization

This article describes a case study involving information technology managers and their new programmer recruitment policy, but the primary interest is methodological. The processes of issue generation and selection and model conceptualization are described. Early use of “magnetic hexagons” allowed the generation of a range of issues, most of which would not have emerged if system dynamics elicitation techniques had been employed. With the selection of a specific issue, flow diagraming was used to conceptualize a model, computer implementation and scenario generation following naturally. Observations are made on the processes of system dynamics modeling, particularly on the need to employ general techniques of knowledge elicitation in the early stages of interventions. It is proposed that flexible approaches should be used to generate, select, and study the issues, since these reduce any biasing of the elicitation toward system dynamics problems and also allow the participants to take up the most appropriate problem- structuring approach.