In-vehicle avatars to elicit social response and change driving behaviour

Social and psychological theories have provided a plethora of evidence showing that the physical difficulty to express appropriate social interactions between drivers expresses itself in aggression, selfish driving and anti-social behaviour. Therefore there is a need to improve interactions between drivers and allow clearer collective decision making between them. Personal characteristics and the driving situations play strong roles in driver’s aggression. Our approach is centered around the driving situation as opposed to focusing on personality characteristics. It examines aggression and manipulates contextual variables such as driver’s eye contact exchanges. This paper presents a new unobtrusive in-vehicle system that aims at communicating drivers’ intentions, elicit social responses and increasing mutual awareness. It uses eye gaze as a social cue to affect collective decision making with the view to contribute to safe driving. The authors used a driving simulator to design a case control experiment in which eye gaze movements are conveyed with an avatar. Participants were asked to drive through different types of intersections. An avatar representing the head of the other driver was displayed and driver behaviour was analysed. Significant eye gaze pattern difference where observed when an avatar was displayed. Drivers cautiously refer to the avatar when information is required on the intention of others (e.g. when they do not have the right of way). The majority of participants reported the perception of “being looked at”. The number of glances and time spent gazing at the avatar did not indicate an unsafe distraction by standards of in-vehicle device ergonomic design. Avatars were visually consulted primarily in less demanding driving situations, which underlines their non-distractive nature.

The birds of the Bush Heritage, Cravens Peak Reserve

Bird communities were studied in two subregional areas of Cravens Peak, the Toko Plains and the Simpson-Strzelecki Dunefields, using the point counts method. A total of 42 2ha 20 minute surveys, 46 five-hundred metre radius area surveys and 170 5km drive through area surveys were conducted and observations made. Bird species were identified, counted and recorded. The data were compared in the two subregions and, as a whole, considering species groups according to land system on which the ecosystem occurs, the specific ecosystem and according to their general feeding habits (insectivore, omnivore, frugivore, granivore, nectarivore and carnivore). Species richness and species relative abundance were compared using Simpson’s Diversity Index and the data revealed that species are distributed largely on the basis of habitat. In general, areas with a greater number of vegetation strata recorded greater species diversity. Overall, the Tall Open Acacia georginae Shrubland on alluvial floodplains has a greater diversity of birds in a 2ha area (0.87, Simpson’s Index of Diversity 1-D) compared to the other survey sites.

Characteristics of on-road driving performance of persons with central vision loss who use bioptic telescopes

Purpose. To compare the on-road driving performance of visually impaired drivers using bioptic telescopes with age-matched controls. Methods. Participants included 23 persons (mean age = 33 ± 12 years) with visual acuity of 20/63 to 20/200 who were legally licensed to drive through a state bioptic driving program, and 23 visually normal age-matched controls (mean age = 33 ± 12 years). On-road driving was assessed in an instrumented dual-brake vehicle along 14.6 miles of city, suburban, and controlled-access highways. Two backseat evaluators independently rated driving performance using a standardized scoring system. Vehicle control was assessed through vehicle instrumentation and video recordings used to evaluate head movements, lane-keeping, pedestrian detection, and frequency of bioptic telescope use. Results. Ninety-six percent (22/23) of bioptic drivers and 100% (23/23) of controls were rated as safe to drive by the evaluators. There were no group differences for pedestrian detection, or ratings for scanning, speed, gap judgments, braking, indicator use, or obeying signs/signals. Bioptic drivers received worse ratings than controls for lane position and steering steadiness and had lower rates of correct sign and traffic signal recognition. Bioptic drivers made significantly more right head movements, drove more often over the right-hand lane marking, and exhibited more sudden braking than controls. Conclusions. Drivers with central vision loss who are licensed to drive through a bioptic driving program can display proficient on-road driving skills. This raises questions regarding the validity of denying such drivers a license without the opportunity to train with a bioptic telescope and undergo on-road evaluation.

Traffic safety at road-rail level crossings using a driving simulator and traffic simulation

A number of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) were used with an advanced driving simulator to assess its influence on driving behavior. Three types of ITS interventions namely, Video in-vehicle (ITS1), Audio in-vehicle (ITS2), and On-road flashing marker (ITS3) were tested. Then, the results from the driving simulator were used as inputs for a developed model using a traffic micro-simulation (Vissim 5.4) in order to assess the safety interventions. Using a driving simulator, 58 participants were required to drive through a number of active and passive crossings with and without an ITS device and in the presence or absence of an approaching train. The effect of driver behavior changing in terms of speed and compliance rate was greater at passive crossings than at active crossings. The difference in speed of drivers approaching ITS devices was very small which indicates that ITS helps drivers encounter the crossings in a safer way. Since the current traffic simulation was not able to replicate a dynamic speed change or a probability of stopping that varies based on different ITS safety devices, some modifications of the current traffic simulation were conducted. The results showed that exposure to ITS devices at active crossings did not influence the drivers’ behavior significantly according to the traffic performance indicators used, such as delay time, number of stops, speed, and stopped delay. On the other hand, the results of traffic simulation for passive crossings, where low traffic volumes and low train headway normally occur, showed that ITS devices improved overall traffic performance.

Traffic safety at road–rail level crossings using a driving simulator and traffic simulation

Several intelligent transportation systems (ITS) were used with an advanced driving simulator to assess its influence on driving behavior. Three types of ITS interventions were tested: video in vehicle, audio in vehicle, and on-road flashing marker. The results from the driving simulator were inputs for a developed model that used traffic microsimulation (VISSIM 5.4) to assess the safety interventions. Using a driving simulator, 58 participants were required to drive through active and passive crossings with and without an ITS device and in the presence or absence of an approaching train. The effect of changes in driver speed and compliance rate was greater at passive crossings than at active crossings. The slight difference in speed of drivers approaching ITS devices indicated that ITS helped drivers encounter crossings in a safer way. Since the traffic simulation was not able to replicate a dynamic speed change or a probability of stopping that varied depending on ITS safety devices, some modifications were made to the traffic simulation. The results showed that exposure to ITS devices at active crossings did not influence drivers’ behavior significantly according to the traffic performance indicator, such as delay time, number of stops, speed, and stopped delay. However, the results of traffic simulation for passive crossings, where low traffic volumes and low train headway normally occur, showed that ITS devices improved overall traffic performance.

Transient microgeographic clines during B chromosome invasion

The near-neutral model of B chromosome evolution predicts that the invasion of a new population should last some tens of generations, but the details on how it proceeds in real populations are mostly unknown. Trying to fill this gap, we analyze here a natural population of the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans at three time points during the last 35 years. Our results show that B chromosome frequency increased significantly during this period, and that a cline observed in 1992 had disappeared in 2012 once B frequency reached an upper limit in all sites sampled. This indicates that, during B chromosome invasion, at microgeographic scale, transient clines for B frequency are formed at the invasion front. Computer simulation experiments showed that the pattern of change observed for genotypic frequencies is consistent with the existence of B chromosome drive through females and selection against individuals with high number of B chromosomes.

Representation of multiculturalism in urban green spaces : a review of immigrants' experiences in Australia

Rapid population influx due to migration in Australia has produced diverse cultural landscapes, which become visible in cities as physical forms, settings and symbols produced by different ethnic communities. Scholars have argued that people moving away from the country of their birth, whether this be a necessary migration, labour mobility or voluntary migration, results in a difficult process of resettlement for families and individuals. To provide a cohesive multicultural society for all citizens, it is essential to understand how immigrants perceive their new environments and how they make connections in a new land in the process of cultural renewal. While the policy of ‘multiculturalism’ has had a rocky road since the optimistic 1970s, a drive through many suburbs in Australian cities shows buildings, festivals and communal gatherings of people that express and refer to diverse cultural backgrounds. Urban green spaces, ranging from private home gardens to public parks and botanical gardens, play an important role in the life of immigrants. Besides psychological and the restorative effects of urban green spaces, these spaces are public places that provide opportunities for recreation, social gatherings, and the celebration of collective cultural values and events such as festivals for many communities. This study aims to raise awareness of ethnicity as an important issue in park settings and spaces. It investigates the interrelationship between these cultural practices in the urban park environment, in relation to ethnic and cultural identity and physical settings. The concept of transculturalism – reinventing a new common culture as a result of migration to a new place – can help the analysis of the affects and the perception of urban green spaces. The paper will review different experiences of immigrants in relation to the use and perception of urban green spaces, developing alternative perspectives about the Australian landscapes.

Design of an angular radial robotic stingray

The propeller is the primary propulsion method for underwater vehicles. It is relatively simple to implement and generally uses rotational motion from the drive through to the propeller. However, it is difficult to seal a high speed propeller shaft from water ingress. As an alternative we can look at nature's own underwater inhabitants and study their locomotive methods.

Uma proposta de intervenção com atividade física individualizada na deficiência intelectual: um estudo de caso

The practice of regular physical activity has been considered a protective factor against the degenerative processes of the body, acting as a promoter of health, especially for risk groups such as obese and resistant groups exercise adherence as among the intellectually disabled (ID) . This study involved the administration of a training protocol and the physical parameters of longitudinal health in a subject about 43 years, intellectually deficient, hypertensive, obese and with a strong predisposition to develop diabetes and heart disease. The main objective of long-term program was to reduce body weight and normalize blood pressure (BP) after the student's physical activity and preferentially interfere with BP values at rest (ie before the daily schedule). The other objective was to improve general physical fitness. The protocol involved four meetings per week lasting one hour, in addition to participation in the program PROEFA (twice a week with sessions of one hour each), totaling 57 sessions spread over five months. The evaluation protocol included in each session the following tests: blood pressure measurements and heart rate, and amount of physical activity recorded via pedometer. Tests applied before and after the training included: anthropometric assessment, agility test, flexibility test, test drive through vertical and horizontal jumps and endurance to the test bench. The mass (kg) and BMI corresponded to the initial values of 127.7 kg and 42.05 kg m-2, and 5 months after 113.2 kg and 37.48 kg m-2, respectively. The waist-hip ratio was close to 1 after the intervention and this value corresponded to 0.98. For the test of agility (shuttle run) was not found improvement in performance. To test the values of the horizontal jump in pre-test were 52 cm and 56 cm post-test, vertical jump has been improved and...(Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Metaheuristics for the Order Batching Problem in Manual Order Picking Systems

In manual order picking systems, order pickers walk or drive through a distribution warehouse in order to collect items which are requested by (internal or external) customers. In order to perform these operations efficiently, it is usually required that customer orders are combined into (more substantial) picking orders of limited size. The Order Batching Problem considered in this paper deals with the question of how a given set of customer orders should be combined such that the total length of all tours is minimized which are necessary to collect all items. The authors introduce two metaheuristic approaches for the solution of this problem: the first one is based on Iterated Local Search; the second on Ant Colony Optimization. In a series of extensive numerical experiments, the newly developed approaches are benchmarked against classic solution methods. It is demonstrated that the proposed methods are not only superior to existing methods but provide solutions which may allow distribution warehouses to be operated significantly more efficiently.

Evaluation of the impact of access to free influenza vaccine on immunization rates for children with cystic fibrosis

Children with cystic fibrosis are at increased risk of seasonal influenza associated complications, which makes them a judicious target of interventions designed to increase influenza vaccination rates. The Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children's Hospital Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis (BCM/TCH CF) Care Center implemented an enhanced multi-component initiative designed to increase influenza vaccination rates in its patient population during the 2011-2012 influenza season. We evaluated the impact of specific components of this intervention on vaccination rates among the clinic's patient population via a historical medical chart review and examined the relationship between vaccination status and the number of pulmonary exacerbations requiring hospital admission during the influenza season. The multi-component intervention was comprised of providing influenza free of charge in the CF Care Center, reminders via phone call and letters, and drive through influenza vaccine clinics on nights and weekends. The intervention to increase influenza vaccination rates led to overall improved vaccination rates among the patients at the BCM/TCH CF Care Center, increasing from 90% adherence observed during the 2010-2011 season to 94% adherence during the 2011-2012 season. The availability of free influenza vaccine in the CF Care Center, combined with reminders about being vaccinated early in the season proved to be the most effective practices for improving the vaccination rate in the CF Care Center.^

A intertextualidade de Edgar Morin

The texts of Edgar Morin, implicitly and explicitly, they bring different philosophical influences. They have a drive through the design of the Paradigm of Complexity. This intertextuality is the object of study of this test, a qualitative approach and transdisciplinar, so we can understand the characteristics of complex knowledge and their respective production

A intertextualidade de Edgar Morin

The texts of Edgar Morin, implicitly and explicitly, they bring different philosophical influences. They have a drive through the design of the Paradigm of Complexity. This intertextuality is the object of study of this test, a qualitative approach and transdisciplinar, so we can understand the characteristics of complex knowledge and their respective production

A intertextualidade de Edgar Morin

The texts of Edgar Morin, implicitly and explicitly, they bring different philosophical influences. They have a drive through the design of the Paradigm of Complexity. This intertextuality is the object of study of this test, a qualitative approach and transdisciplinar, so we can understand the characteristics of complex knowledge and their respective production