Landowners' liability? is perception of the risk of liability for visitors accidents a barrier to countryside access?

The study seeks to analyse both the perception and reality of liability risk for owners of countryside land for injuries suffered by recreational visitors. The study starts by evaluating the relevant legislation and case law in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland on countryside access and liability in tort for injury suffered by visitors to such places. In doing so it reviews legislation such as Health &amp; Safety at Work Act 1974, Countryside &amp; Rights of Way Act 2000, Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, Occupiers' Liability Acts 1957 &amp; 1984, Animals Act 1971 and the Compensation Act 2006. Through appraisal of this legislation and key cases such as Tomlinson -v- Congleton Borough Council (2004) the actual level of liability risk is assessed to be low. The study then investigates the rise of a pervasive discourse amongst policy makers, judiciary and senior business figures asserting the need to avoid further development of a risk adverse culture within the UK and/or to tackle a growth in the perceived "compensation culture". A link to deregulation and pro-entrepreneurship interests is shown. The reality of compensation claim rates and associated behaviours is then examined. Issues of liability risk perception are then addressed by reviewing in detail the limited available UK literature on liability perception by landowners and comparing this with evidence from the United States and New Zealand. Case studies of alleged risk adverse land management are then examined to test the evidence base for common assertions of excess regulation and/or withdrawal of access to land or facilities through fear of liability. Finally, the study explores (via interviews of 21 land managers and representative bodies) how liability risks are actually perceived by land owners and the extent of awareness of recent changes in discourse and case law regarding public safety issues. In doing so the study reveals the ways in which land managers in large pro-access agencies and utilities develop common standards and understandings around the level of "reasonably practicable" safety provision. The study concludes with recommendations for further research to investigate the way in which liability risk perceptions are formed by smaller landowners who are more remote from such "interpretive communities" (Fish 1980).</p

Improving Campus Safety and Sustainability by Bringing Renewable Energy Technology to the American Farm School

Limited street lighting on the American Farm School campus in Thessaloniki, Greece presents safety hazards to pedestrians and motorists on campus roads. Through interviews, direct observation, and textual research, we identified the areas that most need increased lighting, and developed systems and funding strategies to meet these needs. To provide adequate lighting while limiting light pollution and maintaining the natural aesthetic of campus, we recommend low temperature covered LED lamps powered by roof-mounted solar panels to mitigate the long-term electricity expenses

How do you fear? Examining expatriates’ perception of danger and its consequences

Purpose  The purpose of this paper is to investigate the differing perceptions of fear of expatriates operating in terror-exposed Nairobi and the high-crime environment of Johannesburg and its impact on stress and well-being. It illustrates how expatriates cope with the challenges associated with these two regions.   Design/methodology/approach  Following an interpretative and inductive research approach, qualitative content analyses were conducted using evidence from in-depth interviews with 12 expatriates in senior management or officer positions within a large global organisation, with respondents based in South Africa and Kenya.  Findings  Data suggest that expatriates in the more terrorism-exposed context perceive fear less strongly than expatriates in environments categorised by high degrees of conventional crime. Fear seems to relate to physical well-being via restricted freedom of movement, but there is little evidence that fear affects mental well-being. The study finds that respondents in terror-exposed Nairobi tend to engage more in avoidance-oriented coping strategies, whereas their counterparts in the high-crime environment of Johannesburg predominantly rely on problem-focused coping.   Practical implications  The qualitative design allows practitioners to better understand expatriates’ perceptions of fear, its consequences for stress, and well-being and potential coping strategies expatriates employ. It discusses a set of practical recommendations focussing on the deployment of expatriates assigned to dangerous locations.   Originality/value  This study develops a distinction between terror and conventional crime and contributes with practical insights for assignments into dangerous work environments. The geographic lens of the study provides an in-depth look at expatriation challenges in an arguably neglected regional context

Taking the best from outdoor play: A practical book for parents and practitioners of early childhood education

Taking the best from outdoor play: A practical book for parents and practitioners of early childhood educatio

Spatial Planning & Transport Engineering Using Children\u27s Maps to Locate Areas of Perceived Danger on Children\u27s Routes to School

Dublin faces many of the modern day transport problems associated with automobile transport. The bicycle is increasingly being viewed by Urban Planners as an interesting form of individual transportation which can form part of an integrated transportation solution to this problem. For cycling to be a sustainable mode of transport it must be all inclusive. However, there are some identifiable barriers which prevent certain groups in society from cycling. Barriers to children cycling are directly linked to safety concerns and strategies to encourage cycling to school in Ireland currently focus on promotion and cycle training with road safety engineering measures playing a minor role. This research developed a new, ethically sound methodology to locate areas of danger or perceived danger to children in an existing road network. The aim of the study was to improve the decision making process of planners and engineers when designing cycling infrastructure and road safety measures for children. This was achieved using spatial data within a Geographical Information System (GIS) and incorporated experiential data from children in three target schools in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) and quantitative road data from the road Safety Authority (RSA). Findings from the study indicate that the two existing road safety tools currently used in Ireland, the RSA Accident Black Spot Map and the NRA Road Safety Audit, are inadequate when locating areas of perceived road danger to children. It was found that children cycling and walking to school could pinpoint locations in the road network where they experienced dangerous situations or where they did not feel safe. In both instances road types 5 (Regional Roads) and 6 (Local Roads) were identified by children as the most problematic roads. It is exactly these roads that provide the main part of the local cycle infrastructure. An important aspect of the proposed method is that the map gives children the opportunity to participate and provides valuable information which could enable Planners and Traffic Engineers to implement measures from The National Cycle Manual to help to realise the full potential of Dublin for cycling to school

What Matters in Professional Drone Pilots’ Practice? An Interview Study to Understand the Complexity of Their Work and Inform Human-Drone Interaction Research

Human-drone interaction is a growing topic of interest within HCI research. Researchers propose many innovative concepts for drone applications, but much of this research does not incorporate knowledge on existing applications already adopted by professionals. This limits the validity of said research. To address this limitation, we present our fndings from an in-depth interview study with 10 professional drone pilots. Our participants were armed with signifcant experience and qualifcations - pertinent to both drone operations and a set of applications covering diverse industries. Our fndings have resulted in design recommendations that should inform both ends and means of human-drone interaction research. These include, but are not limited to: safety-related protocols, insights from domain-specifc use cases, and relevant practices outside of hands-on fight

Smart technologies and beyond: exploring how a smart band can assist in monitoring children’s independent mobility & well-being

The problem which is being investigated through this thesis is not having a device(s) or method(s) which are appropriate for monitoring a child’s vital and tracking a child’s location. This aspect is being explored by other researchers which are yet to find a viable solution. This work focuses on providing a solution that would consider using the Internet of Things for measuring and improving children’s health. Additionally, the focus of this research is on the use of technology for health and the needs of parents who are concerned about their child’s physical health and well-being. This work also provides an insight into how technology is used during the pandemic. This thesis will be based on a mixture of quantitative and qualitative research, which will have been used to review the following areas covering key aspects and focuses of this study which are (i) Children’s Independent Mobility (ii) Physical activity for children (iii) Emotions of a child (iv) Smart Technologies and (v) Children’s smart wearables. This will allow a review of the problem in detail and how technology can help the health sector, especially for children. The deliverable of this study is to recommend a suitable smart band device that enables location tracking of the child, activity tracking as well as monitoring the health and wellbeing of the child. The research also includes an element of practical research in the form of (i) Surveys, the use of smart technology and a perspective on the solution from parents. (ii) Focus group, in the form of a survey allowing opinions and collection of information on the child and what the parents think of smart technology and how it could potentially help with their fears. (iii) Observation, which allows the collection of data from children who were given six activities to conduct while wearing the Fitbit Charge HR. The information gained from these elements will help provide guidelines for a proposed solution. In this thesis, there are three frameworks which are about (i) Research process for this study (ii) Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which are findings from the literature review and (iii) Proposed framework for the solution, all three combined frameworks can help health professionals and many parents who want an efficient and reliable device, also deployment of technologies used in the health industry for children in support of independent mobility. Current frameworks have some considerations within the technology and medical field but were not up to date with the latest elements such as parents fears within today’s world and the advanced features of technology

Envisioning the future of public lighting through upcoming technologies by citizen-centered design

Outdoor lighting forms an essential component of public infrastructure in global urban context. The functions of street lighting have been the same for a long time. Currently, adaptive lighting is used within intelligent lighting systems that are tested for wide deployment. Adaptive lighting is a sensor-based system that uses LED technology to dim and brighten lighting on the streets depending on its context and movement on the streets. The benefits of the technology include, for example, the reduction of energy consumption, light pollution and disturbance of circadian rhythms of animals and plants. This new technology and its deployment have its concerns. Testing the impact of such a public lighting within the major cities in multiple contexts is complex. While urban technologies affect the everyday lives of people, involving them in shaping such a future public infrastructure and widening its application through participation is far from simple. Within the scope of my research, I wish to address enabling citizens’ participation in the visioning of future technologies that may have an impact on public lighting. Therefore, I chose to frame adaptive lighting of smart cities in the context of three future technologies, of autonomous cars, Li-Fi and battery storage. Autonomous cars could change the way we see the role of the public lighting of roads. With Li-Fi, cars could communicate with street lights accessing sensor data from the environment. Household batteries could be connected to street lighting grid and cities could rent storage or buy energy produced by private infrastructure. With these upcoming technologies, changes in the role of outdoor public lighting can be anticipated. I wish to highlight this reflexive relation between changing urban technologies and present a potential for citizen participation in shaping their urban environments. By using design procedures, I engaged with city officials and citizens in creating future urban visions for adaptive lighting and its interaction with three future technologies.Katuvalaistus muodostaa tärkeän osan julkista infrastruktuuria maailmanlaajuisesti. Katuvalot ovat pitkään pysyneet samankaltaisina toiminnoiltaan. Mukautuva valaistus on nykyään laajamittaisesti testattu ja käytetty teknologia älykkäissä valaistusjärjestelmissä, joka on sensoreja käyttävä teknologia, jossa LED valoja himmennetään ja kirkastetaan kadulla tapahtuvan liikenteen tai kontekstin mukaan. Teknologian hyötyjä ovat muun muassa energian kulutuksen ja valosaasteen vähentäminen ja pienemmät vaikutukset eläinten ja kasvien vuorokausirytmeihin. Tällä uudella teknologialla ja sen käyttöönotolla on myös haasteensa. Teknologian vaikutuksien testaaminen suurissa kaupungeissa eri konteksteissaan on monimutkaista, vaikka urbaanit teknologiat tulevat vaikuttamaan suoraan ihmisten päivittäiseen elämään. Pyrin mahdollistamaan asukkaiden osallistamisen tulevaisuuden katuvalaistuksen visioinnissa. Myös muilla tulevaisuuden teknologioilla on vaikutusta tulevaisuuden katuvalaistukseen. Tutkimuksen laajuuden rajoissa otettiin huomioon kolme muuta tulevaisuuden teknologiaa. Tutkin tulevaisuuden älykästä katuvalaistusta itseohjautuvien autojen, valoa käyttävän kommunikaatioteknologian Li-Fi:n ja energia varastojen kontekstissa. Itseohjautuvat autot voivat muuttaa käsitystä siitä, miten näemme valaistuksen roolin teillä. Autot voisivat kommunikoida toistensa kanssa Li-Fi:n avulla saaden sensoreiden tuottamaa dataa ympäristöstään. Kotitalouksien akut voisivat olla yhdistettynä katuvalaistusverkkoon ja kaupungit voisivat vuokrata varastoja tai ostaa energiaa, joka on tuotettu yksityisesti. Näiden tulevaisuuden teknologioiden avulla voidaan ennakoida katuvalaistuksen roolin muutosta. Pyrin korostamaan tätä heijastavaa suhdetta muuttuvien urbaanien teknologioiden välillä ja esittämään potentiaalin asukkaiden osallistamisessa kaupunkiympäristöä muodostaessa. Osallistin kaupungin toimihenkilöitä käyttäen muotoilumenetelmiä luoden tulevaisuuden visioita älykkäästä valaistuksesta ja tämän vuorovaikutuksesta kolmen tulevaisuuden teknologian välillä. Katuvalaistuksen toimintojen visiointiin käytettiin asukkaiden kanssa osallistavia muotoilumenetelmiä

Can air quality feedback be an effective tool to encourage parents and caregivers to “take smoking right outside”?

Second-hand tobacco smoke (SHS) is a serious cause of ill-health, particularly for children. Smoking indoors leads to high concentrations of SHS and behaviour change interventions have been developed to promote smoke-free homes for children’s benefit. Air-quality feedback – giving parents and caregivers personalised information on the effect of smoking on air pollution at home – has been used in several trials with positive results. A qualitative study was conducted comparing attitudes to SHS and outdoor air pollution. Focus group participants and internet commenters viewed outdoor pollution as a serious health risk, suggesting that comparing SHS to outdoor air pollution could be a promising avenue for increasing awareness about the risks from SHS and promoting behaviour change. An air-quality feedback intervention using a low-cost particle counter was developed and piloted, with lessons from this feasibility study used to develop an innovative intervention using mHealth techniques and remote monitoring for use in a larger trial in four centres around Europe. This study of 68 homes resulted in a statistically significant decline of 17% in measured SHS over the intervention period, but resulted in only eight participants making their homes fully smoke-free. An algorithm was developed to detect smoking in homes using low-cost particulate matter sensors. When tested with data from 144 homes in Scotland, 135 were correctly classified (113 smoking homes, 22 non-smoking homes). Similar predictive rates were achieved in a study of 16 homes in Israel demonstrating that it could be used in different environmental conditions. The algorithm did not enable detection of the periods when smoking occurred in homes. Air-quality feedback can play a role in changing smoking behaviour but may require careful targeting at those with the capability and opportunity to make the change. Future research could use these techniques more widely as part of an “endgame” approach to tobacco control