Development of an innovative technology based youth passenger safety program - an evidence-based approach

Young drivers are overrepresented in motor vehicle crash rates, and their risk increases when carrying similar aged passengers. Graduated Driver Licensing strategies have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing fatalities among young drivers, however complementary approaches may further reduce crash rates. Previous studies conducted by the researchers have shown that there is considerable potential for a passenger focus in youth road safety interventions, particularly involving the encouragement of young passengers to intervene in their peers’ risky driving (Buckley, Chapman, Sheehan & Davidson, 2012). Additionally, this research has shown that technology-based applications may be a promising means of delivering passenger safety messages, particularly as young people are increasingly accessing web-based and mobile technologies. This research describes the participatory design process undertaken to develop a web-based road safety program, and involves feasibility testing of storyboards for a youth passenger safety application. Storyboards and framework web-based materials were initially developed for a passenger safety program, using the results of previous studies involving online and school-based surveys with young people. Focus groups were then conducted with 8 school staff and 30 senior school students at one public high school in the Australian Capital Territory. Young people were asked about the situations in which passengers may feel unsafe and potential strategies for intervening in their peers’ risky driving. Students were also shown the storyboards and framework web-based material and were asked to comment on design and content issues. Teachers were also shown the material and asked about their perceptions of program design and feasibility. The focus group data will be used as part of the participatory design process, in further developing the passenger safety program. This research describes an evidence-based approach to the development of a web-based application for youth passenger safety. The findings of this research and resulting technology will have important implications for the road safety education of senior high school students

Channeling episodes of Kasei Valles, Mars, and the nature of ridged plains material

The geologic mapping compiled at 1:500,000 scale of the northern Kasei Valles area of Mars (MTMs 25062 and 25067) indicates (1) at least three periods of Kasei Valles channeling, (2) the development of Sacra Fossae (linear depressions on Tempe Terra and Lunae Planum) in relation to Kasei channeling episodes, and (3) the nature of ridged plains material dissected by Kasei Valles on northern Lunae Planum. (The three channeling periods consists of two flood events and a later, sapping related event). These findings suggest hydrologic conditions and processes that formed Kasei Valles and associated features and terrains. It is concluded that an early period of flooding, whose source is perhaps buried beneath lava flows of Tharsis Montes, may have eroded streamlined features in northern Lunae Planum. Also, later floods originating from Echus Chasma formed after the initial flooding and the mesas adjacent to the plateau. The Sacra Fossae formed after the initial flooding and during the second flooding by sapping, outbreak, scarp retreat, and collapse along joints and fractures in ridged plains materials

A study of stone sculpture from Cumberland and Westmorland c.1092-1153 within a historical context

This thesis is the first study to survey and analyse the full extent of Cumberland and Westmorland's stone sculpture from the Norman and Scottish period. The aims of the thesis are to place the surviving stone sculpture within the context of late eleventh- and early twelfth-century art and culture and to identify sources of style, content and iconography and links with other artistic media. These are achieved through discussion of aspects of stone sculpture from a variety of sites and detailed examination of specific carvings: the lintel-stone at St Bees; the font at Bridekirk; four principal doorways: St Bees, Great Salkeld, Torpenhow and Kirkbampton. No surviving object of stone sculpture, architectural or free-standing, can be associated with a specific document or patron, but detailed analysis indicates the surviving carvings provide valuable visual evidence of Norman culture and the role of stone decoration within it. The final chapter concludes the study and considers the development of the parochial system which required churches and the possible patrons involved.Prior to this study, there has been little discussion of these carvings in the art-historical literature. The lintel-stone at St Bees and the font at Bridekirk have attracted some scholarly attention, but, elsewhere across the region, the surviving sculpture has remained comparatively unnoticed.1 The pre-Conquest carvings from the Anglian and Norse periods have been comprehensively analysed and catalogued in the Corpus (Map 6). The historical aspects, however, of the emergence of Cumberland and Westmorland into the modem age have been extensively discussed and documented.2 The history of the area has been explored by several authors in the Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society. These articles, contributed by authors with local expertise, cover all aspects of the area's history, including discussion of church buildings and sites. Canon James Wilson's contribution to the Victoria County History of Cumberland, Volumes 1 and 2, is unsurpassed by later authors in the majority of his views.3 This literature has provided invaluable sources ofinformation to an outsider of the region and forms much of the basis of historical discussion in this thesis. The study of Carlisle by Henry Summerson is comprehensive.4 This volume has been expanded by Charles Phythian-Adams in his study of the region up to 1120.5 Geoffrey Barrow, through his work on the relationship ofCumberland and Westmorland with Scotland, and John Todd, a resident of Cumberland, through historical studies based on surviving documentary evidence, have provided painstakingly accurate assessments of aspects of the region.6 Todd's work on the priories of St Bees and Lanercost are meticulously researched.7 Richard Sharpe, in the past few years, has also contributed to the interpretation of documentary material, Pipe Rolls and surviving charters.8 Scholarly thinking continues to develop as archaeological and sculptural evidence emerges, exemplified by the excavations at Whithorn throughout the past fifteen years. The loss of sculpture from the major part of the original Norman cathedral in Carlisle and the disappearance of Wetheral Priory detract from an understanding of sculptural development across the region and the influences upon it. To compensate for this loss, comparisons with other major sites and other artistic media from elsewhere are introduced

Comparison of three different investigative interview techniques with young children

Three programs for the testing of elementary school students\u27 eyewitness testimonies were tested and compared. Three different types of investigative interviews were used. The first was the investigative interview currently in use by West Virginia Child Protective Services. The second was an interview procedure developed by Yuille et al. (1993) called the Step-Wise Interview. The third method was a modified version of the Step-Wise Interview, which included changes based upon recent literature. Students from developmental & experimental psychology classes were trained in one of the three techniques. First and second grade children first viewed a movie and were then interviewed by one of the experimenta1 or developmental psychology students. Results showed that no single interview method was, overall, significantly more effective at producing more recall accuracy and less confabulation from the children. Various strengths and weaknesses were identified for each of the interviewing methods. These results were discussed in relation to their implication for child abuse investigations

Mechanisms Underlying the Testing Effect

The current experimental study attempted to disentangle retrieval of target information from the context surrounding the information in the testing effect, or the finding that taking a practice test leads to better retention on a final test, for the purpose of discovering the mechanisms underlying the phenomenon. Twenty-three participants studied 30 cue-target pairs over three blocks and then either re-studied the pairs or practiced retrieving the target words for another three blocks. All participants completed a final test in which they recalled the target words for all 30 pairs once and performed a lexical decision task in which they had to indicate whether a string of letters was a word or a non-word. The words in the lexical decision task consisted of new words and old words, and response time and accuracy were recorded. None of the results were statistically significant, but the data tended to trend in specific directions. The practice test group had a higher proportion correct on the final test than the re-study group, trending toward a testing effect finding. For the lexical decision task, participants in the practice test group responded to old words slower but more accurately than those in the re-study group. The results support hypotheses that claim participants encode the context around the target words, taking more time to retrieve the context before they retrieve the target words, but the context also aids in successfully retrieving the target words. In general terms, these results impact how students should learn material in educational settings. It is widely recommended that students test themselves to best learn information from class, but adding a context around the information to be learned, such as creating a story around the information, can be even more beneficial

The construction and evaluation of a word pronunciation test for grades four, five, and six

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Consensus Groups and Grassroots Democracy: Maybe Those Who Say It Cannot Be Done Should Get Out of the Way of Those Doing It

10 pages. Contains 2 pages of references

Science Instructional Leadership Knowledge: A Qualitative Case Study

This qualitative case study aimed to investigate instructional leaders’ depths of science content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge and how their depths of that knowledge supports effective instructional leadership. Implementation efforts around the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have highlighted the need for science instructional leaders to have in-depth content and pedagogical knowledge to function as effective instructional leaders in secondary science classrooms across the United States. Semi-structured interviews with 19 teachers and instructional leaders in a public high school in the southern United States informed the study. The findings revealed that teachers expect instructional leaders to have higher levels of science content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge to serve in their leadership roles. The findings also suggested science instructional leadership is directly related to instructional leaders’ selfefficacies and self-perceptions. For practical implications, instructional leaders at the secondary level may consider these results for reflection on practice and future planning of professional learning for overall school improvement. Recommendations for future research include expanding the sample population to include multiple school districts, rural school districts, and across content areas