The effectiveness of licence restriction for drink drivers: The Australian experience

In many jurisdictions, licence restriction is used as an alternative to full suspension for certain drink driving offenders. However, this may undermine both the specific and general deterrent effect of licence loss, by reducing the perceived certainty and severity of the sanction. To explore this proposition, an analysis was undertaken of the records of almost 22,000 male drivers initially convicted of drink driving during 1988 in Queensland, Australia. At a process level, it was found that licence restriction was relatively common, with 12% of offenders being granted a restricted licence for employment purposes. Contrary to legislative guidelines, these licences were sometimes granted to offenders with a recent history of drink driving. At an outcome level, it was found that the restricted drivers were involved in a similar proportion of alcohol-related crashes, but more non alcohol-related crashes, during the term of the sanction than drivers who had been fully suspended. This is consistent with previous research by the authors indicating that restricted drivers do not commit any more drink driving offences than suspended drivers. Therefore, while full suspension produces greater overall road safety benefits, restricted licences appear no less effective as a specific deterrent to drink driving

Self-awareness of driving impairment in patients with cataract or glaucoma

This study compared the driving performance of individuals with the eye diseases cataracts or glaucoma with age-matched controls, as well as the individual’s own perceptions of driving. Participants included drivers over the age of 50 years who had been diagnosed with glaucoma (n=29) or cataracts (n=33) and a control group with no ocular pathology (n=13). Driving performance was measured on a closed road circuit using a range of standardised measures of vehicle control and hazard recognition and avoidance, while visual performance was measured with a battery of tests including visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and visual fields. Perceptions of vision and driving were assessed using the Activities of Daily Vision Scale, Driver Behaviour Questionnaire and a driving exposure questionnaire. Driving performance was significantly poorer (p<0.05) for each of the ocular disease groups compared to the control group. Impaired contrast sensitivity and the higher disease severity scores (for the glaucoma group only) correlated most strongly with poorer driving performance. While participants with cataracts rated their vision significantly more poorly than those in the glaucoma and control groups, there were no significant differences between the participant groups rating of their own driving performance. These findings suggest that there is no direct relationship between self-rated driving ability and actual vision and driving performance. This has serious road safety implications

Using Gimlet to Improve Service at the Library

In 2011, Johnson County Community College’s Billington Library first piloted and then implemented a low-cost online reference statistics tool called Gimlet. The system replaced an outmoded and inaccurate pen-and-paper statistics system. This paper details the struggles and advantages of this change. Implementation and training programs are discussed, as well as strategies for generating staff buy-in. Both the expected and unexpected advantages of a Gimlet based online system are explored, and future directions for the system are described. Libraries looking for a very low cost, easy to implement electronic statistics solution should consider Gimlet. The experience of JCCC’s Billington Library can serve as an effective road map

Principles and practical implementation of farming systems research and farmer participatory research. Including Vulindlela District and Sobantu Village case studies

This publication integrates theory and practical work arising from courses in Farming Systems and Farmer Participatory Research held at the Institute of Natural Resources and associated institutions in KwaZulu-Natal during 1996 and 1997. The courses were conducted as part of a project supported by the UK. Government's Department for International Development and managed by the UK Natural Resources Institute (NRI). Objectives of this publication are 1) to provide reference material in Farming Systems and Farmer Participatory Research for interested audiences in KwaZulu-Natal and elsewhere; 2) by integrating theory and practice, to demonstrate how the principles, approaches and methods of FSRJFPR can be applied to real situations; 3) to record the situation, suggestions and priorities of rural and peri-urban families in Vulindlela District, as recorded by course participants; 4) to provide a springboard of information for further development initiatives in Vulindlela and elsewhere in KwaZulu-Natal; 5) to present the Urban Agriculture workshop held in Sobantu Village as a case study of participatory workshop methods

Using a motorcycle rider behaviour questionnaire (MRBQ) to investigate the predictors of motorcyclists' crash risk

In 2005, there were over 23,000 motorcyclists (including moped riders) involved in injury road traffic crashes in Great Britain and 6,142 of these riders were killed or seriously injured (Department for Transport, 2006). In order to reduce the casualty rates it is necessary to understand why motorcycle crashes happen. The present study approached this issue by investigating the role of aberrant rider behaviour, using a Motorcycle Rider Behaviour Questionnaire (MRBQ) as a framework. The aims of the study were to test the reliability and discriminant validity of the MRBQ and to examine which MRBQ behaviours relate to crash risk. Following the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (e.g., Reason et al., 1990), which classifies driver behaviour into a system of errors ('the failure of planned actions to achieve their intended consequences') and violations ('deliberate deviations from those practices necessary to maintain the safe operation of a potentially hazardous system'), the MRBQ measured errors and violations, but with regard to motorcycling rather than car driving (see Elliott, Baughan & Sexton, 2007). The questionnaire consisted of 43 items to measure the self-reported frequency of specific riding behaviours. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of motorcyclists via a postal survey (N = 8,666). Principal components analysis revealed a 5-factor solution (TRAFFIC ERRORS, CONTROL ERRORS, SPEED VIOLATIONS, performance of STUNTS, and use of SAFETY EQUIPMENT). Generalised linear modelling showed that, while controlling for the effects of age, experience and annual mileage, TRAFFIC ERRORS were the main predictors of crash risk. For crashes in which respondents accepted some degree of blame, CONTROL ERRORS and SPEED VIOLATIONS were also significant predictors of crash risk. Implications of the findings will be discussed in relation to deciding on which countermeasures may be most effective at reducing motorcycle casualty rates

The Effects of Diffuse Ionized Gas and Spatial Resolution on Metallicity Gradients: TYPHOON Two-Dimensional Spectrophotometry of M83

We present a systematic study of the diffuse ionized gas (DIG) in M83 and its effects on the measurement of metallicity gradients at varying resolution scales. Using spectrophotometric data cubes of M83 obtained at the 2.5m duPont telescope at Las Campanas Observatory as part of the TYPHOON program, we separate the HII regions from the DIG using the [SII]/H$\alpha$ ratio, HIIphot (HII finding algorithm) and the H$\alpha$ surface brightness. We find that the contribution to the overall H$\alpha$ luminosity is approximately equal for the HII and DIG regions. The data is then rebinned to simulate low-resolution observations at varying resolution scales from 41 pc up to 1005 pc. Metallicity gradients are measured using five different metallicity diagnostics at each resolution. We find that all metallicity diagnostics used are affected by the inclusion of DIG to varying degrees. We discuss the reasons of why the metallicity gradients are significantly affected by DIG using the HII dominance and emission line ratio radial profiles. We find that applying the [SII]/H$\alpha$ cut will provide a closer estimate of the true metallicity gradient up to a resolution of 1005 pc for all metallicity diagnostics used in this study.Comment: 26 pages, 12 figures + Appendix/Supplementary Material, accepted for publication by MNRA

Starburst-AGN mixing: TYPHOON observations of NGC 1365, NGC 1068, and the effect of spatial resolution on the AGN fraction

We demonstrate a robust method of resolving the star-formation and AGN contributions to emission lines using two very well known AGN systems: NGC 1365, and NGC 1068, using the high spatial resolution data from the TYPHOON/PrISM survey. We expand the previous method of calculating the AGN fraction by using theoretical-based model grids rather than empirical points. The high spatial resolution of the TYPHOON/PrISM observations show evidence of both star formation and AGN activity occurring in the nuclei of the two galaxies. We rebin the data to the lower resolutions, typically found in other integral field spectroscopy surveys such as SAMI, MaNGA, and CALIFA. The results show that when rebinned from the native resolution of TYPHOON (< 200 pc/pixel) to 1 kpc/pixel, the effects include a roughly 3 kpc increase in the radius of measured AGN activity, and a factor of 2 to 7 increase in the detection of low surface brightness features such as shocks. All of this information is critical, because information on certain physical processes may be lost at varying resolutions. We make recommendations for analysing data at current IFU survey resolutions.Comment: 30 pages, 28 figures, accepted for publication by MNRA