The Impact of Parental Attachment on Adolescent Perception of the School Environment and School Connectedness

The extent to which students feel accepted, valued, respected and included in the school has recently surfaced as one of the most important predictors of adolescent mental health (particularly depressive symptoms). The school environment is an established predictor of school connectedness, but we set out to examine whether parental attachment predicts both adolescents' perception of the school environment and school connectedness. A study of 171 high school students from years 8 to 12 showed that parent attachment strongly predicted both. We also confirmed that the relationship between parent attachment and school connectedness is not a direct one but that parent attachment influences individual differences in the way adolescents perceive the school environment, which in turn influences school connectedness. This finding shows how multiple systems might be interlinked in influencing wellbeing in adolescents, and confirms the importance of intervening at the double level of both the family and the school system.

Too sleepy to drive : self-perception and regulation of driving when sleepy

Background: Sleepiness is a direct contributor to a substantial proportion of fatal and severe road cashes. A number of technological solutions designed to detect sleepiness have been developed, but self-awareness of increasing sleepiness remains a critical component in on-road strategies for mitigating this risk. In order to take appropriate action when sleepy, drivers’ perceptions of their level of sleepiness must be accurate. Aims: This study aimed to assess capacity to accurately identify sleepiness and self-regulate driving cessation during a validated driving simulator task. Participants: Participants comprised 26 young adult drivers (20-28 years). The drivers had open licenses but no other exclusion criteria where used. Methods: Participants woke at 5am, and took part in a laboratory-based hazard perception driving simulation, either at mid-morning or mid-afternoon. Established physiological measures (including EEG) and subjective measures (sleepiness ratings) previously found sensitive to changes in sleepiness levels were utilised. Participants were instructed to ‘drive’ until they believed that sleepiness had impaired their ability to drive safely. They were then offered a nap opportunity. Results: The mean duration of the drive before cessation was 39 minutes (±18 minutes). Almost all (23/26) of the participants then achieved sleep during the nap opportunity. These data suggest that the participants’ perceptions of sleepiness were specific. However, EEG data from a number of participants suggested very high levels of sleepiness prior to driving cessation, suggesting poor sensitivity. Conclusions: Participants reported high levels of sleepiness while driving after very moderate sleep restriction. They were able to identify increasing sleepiness during the test period, could decide to cease driving and in most cases were sufficiently sleepy to achieve sleep during the daytime session. However, the levels of sleepiness achieved prior to driving cessation suggest poor accuracy in self-perception and regulation. This presents practical issues for the implementation of fatigue and sleep-related strategies to improve driver safety.

Visual motion perception predicts driving hazard perception ability

PURPOSE: To examine the basis of previous findings of an association between indices of driving safety and visual motion sensitivity and to examine whether this association could be explained by low-level changes in visual function. METHODS: 36 visually normal participants (aged 19 – 80 years), completed a battery of standard vision tests including visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and automated visual fields. and two tests of motion perception including sensitivity for movement of a drifting Gabor stimulus, and sensitivity for displacement in a random-dot kinematogram (Dmin). Participants also completed a hazard perception test (HPT) which measured participants’ response times to hazards embedded in video recordings of real world driving which has been shown to be linked to crash risk. RESULTS: Dmin for the random-dot stimulus ranged from -0.88 to -0.12 log minutes of arc, and the minimum drift rate for the Gabor stimulus ranged from 0.01 to 0.35 cycles per second. Both measures of motion sensitivity significantly predicted response times on the HPT. In addition, while the relationship involving the HPT and motion sensitivity for the random-dot kinematogram was partially explained by the other visual function measures, the relationship with sensitivity for detection of the drifting Gabor stimulus remained significant even after controlling for these variables. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that motion perception plays an important role in the visual perception of driving-relevant hazards independent of other areas of visual function and should be further explored as a predictive test of driving safety. Future research should explore the causes of reduced motion perception in order to develop better interventions to improve road safety.

Motorcycle Safety Research Project Interim Summary Report 3 : Training and Licensing Interventions for Risk Taking and Hazard Perception for Motorcyclists

Motorcycle trauma is a serious road safety issue in Queensland and throughout Australia. In 2009, Queensland Transport (later Transport and Main Roads or TMR) appointed CARRS-Q to provide a three-year program of Road Safety Research Services for Motorcycle Rider Safety. Funding for this research originated from the Motor Accident Insurance Commission. This program of research was undertaken to produce knowledge to assist TMR to improve motorcycle safety by further strengthening the licensing and training system to make learner riders safer by developing a pre-learner package (Deliverable 1), and by evaluating the QRide CAP program to ensure that it is maximally effective and contributes to the best possible training for new riders (Deliverable 2). The focus of this report is Deliverable 3 of the overall program of research. It identifies potential new licensing components that will reduce the incidence of risky riding and improve higher-order cognitive skills in new riders.

The effect of injury diagnosis on expected Postconcussion Syndrome (PCS) symptom reporting and illness perception

Objective: To determine if systematic variation of diagnostic terminology (i.e. concussion, minor head injury [MHI], mild traumatic brain injury [mTBI]) following a standardized injury description produced different expected symptoms and illness perceptions. We hypothesized that worse outcomes would be expected of mTBI, compared to other diagnoses, and that MHI would be perceived as worse than concussion. Method:108 volunteers were randomly allocated to conditions in which they read a vignette describing a motor vehicle accident-related mTBI followed by: a diagnosis of mTBI (n=27), MHI (n=24), concussion (n=31); or, no diagnosis (n=26). All groups rated: a) event ‘undesirability’; b) illness perception, and; c) expected Postconcussion Syndrome (PCS) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms six months post injury. Results: On average, more PCS symptomatology was expected following mTBI compared to other diagnoses, but this difference was not statistically significant. There was a statistically significant group effect on undesirability (mTBI>concussion & MHI), PTSD symptomatology (mTBI & no diagnosis>concussion), and negative illness perception (mTBI & no diagnosis>concussion). Conclusion: In general, diagnostic terminology did not affect anticipated PCS symptoms six months post injury, but other outcomes were affected. Given that these diagnostic terms are used interchangeably, this study suggests that changing terminology can influence known contributors to poor mTBI outcome.

The prevalence and perception of pain amongst hospital in-patients

The aim of this paper is to describe the prevalence and perceptions of pain and pain management amongst hospital in-patients. A cross-sectional descriptive survey of 205 patients was conducted. Presence and severity of pain was assessed using verbal descriptor and visual analogue scales, and perceptions of pain were assessed using multi-item scales. Although the severity of pain reported was consistent across age groups and clinical areas, women in the study sample were significantly more likely to report high levels of pain than men. Differences in how men and women communicate their pain were observed, with women indicating that they were less willing to ask for help with their pain. Results suggest that pain continues to be an important problem for a large number of men and women in hospital, and that the experience of pain impacts negatively upon their well-being. Gender differences in the experience of and response to pain remain important considerations for clinical nurses who have major responsibilities for the management of pain in hospitalized patients.

Socio-economic & environmental impacts of battery driven auto rickshaw at Rajshahi city in Bangladesh

This paper describes the socio-economic and environmental impacts of battery driven Auto Rickshaw at Rajshahi city in Bangladesh. Unemployment problem is one of the major problems in Bangladesh. The number of unemployed people in Bangladesh is 7 lacks. Auto Rickshaw reduces this unemployment problem near about 2%.In this thesis work various questions were asked to the Auto Rickshaw driver in the different point in the Rajshahi city. Then those data were calculated to know their socio economic condition. The average number of passenger per Auto Rickshaw was determined at various places of Rajshahi city (Talaimari mor, Hadir mor, Alupotti, Shaheb bazar zero point, Shodor Hospital mor, Fire brigade mor, CNB mor, Lakshipur mor, Bondo gate, Bornali, Panir tank, Rail gate, Rail Station, Bhodrar mor, Adorsha School mor). Air pollution is a great threat for human health. One of the major causes of the air pollution is the emission from various vehicles, which are running by the burning of the fossil fuel in different internal combustion(IC) engines. All the data’s about emission from various power plants were collected from internet. Then the amounts of emission (CO2, NOX and PM) from different power plant were calculated in terms of kg/km. The energy required by the Auto Rickshaw per km was also calculated. Then the histogram of emission from different vehicles in terms of kg/km was drawn. By analyzing the data and chart, it was found that, battery driven Auto Rickshaw increases income, social status, comfort and decreases unemployment problems.

Active text perception for mobile robots

Our everyday environment is full of text but this rich source of information remains largely inaccessible to mobile robots. In this paper we describe an active text spotting system that uses a small number of wide angle views to locate putative text in the environment and then foveates and zooms onto that text in order to improve the reliability of text recognition. We present extensive experimental results obtained with a pan/tilt/zoom camera and a ROS-based mobile robot operating in an indoor environment.

Perception of Brownfield Sites : Myth or Reality?

The scarcity of large parcels of land in well-serviced areas is one motivator for redeveloping industrial or commercial property that is abandoned or underused and often environmentally contaminated – so-called brownfield land. Poor industrial waste disposal practices caused by industrial activities including gas works, factories, railway land and waste tips have contributed to many instances of contaminated land identified as brownfield sites. It is estimated there are between 10,000 and 160,000 brownfield sites in Australia, with Queensland accounting for around 4000 of these.

Principals, Teachers, and Student's Perception of the Information and Communication Technology in Kuwait Secondary Schools (Rhetoric and reality)

ICT integration has been advocated to provide opportunities to improve students’ achievement and engagement through transforming the educational setting. A valuable tool that contributes in enhancing and developing students’ cognitive skills for lifelong learning, ICT integration has introduced a new educational philosophy, shifting the role of students into a more central position in the pedagogical processes. Kuwait, as with many other countries, has recently planned ICT integration to develop its citizen’s capacities. This study sought to capture the principals’, teachers’, and students’ perceptions of ICT integration in pedagogical activities, as well as how ICT is being used for learning and teaching activities in three ICT leading Kuwaiti secondary schools. Interviews with principals, teachers, and students were conducted, along with an open-ended questionnaire for the teachers, researcher observations, and document analysis. The findings revealed that ICT integration in Kuwait needed to be reinforced to accomplish the ICT integration objectives. A call for further support for teachers, and a reconsideration of the ICT integration strategies were also recommended.