Health initiatives to target obesity in surface transport industries: review and implications for action

Lifestyle-related chronic diseases pose a considerable burden to the individual and the wider society, with correspondingly negative effects on industry. Obesity is a particular problem for the Australasian road and rail industries where it is associated with specific cardiac and fatigue-related safety risks, and levels are higher than those found in the general population. Despite this recognition, and the introduction of National Standards, very little consensus exists regarding approaches to preventative health for surface transport workers. A review of evidence regarding effective health promotion initiatives is urgently needed to inform best practice in this cohort. This review draws together research informing the scope and effectiveness of health promotion programs, initiatives and interventions targeting overweight and obesity in safety critical surface transport domains including the truck, bus and rail industries. A number of health interventions demonstrated measurable successes, including incentivising, peer mentoring, verbal counselling, development of personalised health profiles, and offer of healthier on-site food choices – some of which also resulted in sizeable return on investment over the long term. &nbsp

Scenario Invention Task Technique (SITT): a practical innovation for qualitative research in a reef tourism study

The aim of this paper is to outline the use of a qualitative research method called the Scenario Invention Task Technique (SITT) in the context of a reef tourism study. The study was undertaken to gain a better understanding of the relationship between working time arrangements, sleep and the capacity to perform emotional labour in the reef tourism workforce of Far North Queensland (FNQ). To achieve this, focus groups were conducted with reef tourism workers during which the SITT was applied. This involved asking reef employees to create a challenging/negative customer service scenario to help stimulate insights. Employing a task that required participants to create a challenging customer service situation was considered to promote the acquisition of rich insights in a way that promoted applicability and trustworthiness of findings. The paper starts by describing the SITT and then outlines the research context of the study, followed by a section of how the SITT was applied. The paper concludes by offering reflections on the use of SITT and considers its broader application in tourism research

The influence of auditory feedback on speed choice, violations and comfort in a driving simulation game

Two experiments are reported which explore the relationships between auditory feedback (engine noise), speed choice, driving violations and driver comfort. Participants played a driving simulation game with different levels of auditory feedback in the form of engine noise. In Experiment 1, a between-subjects design revealed that no noise and low levels of engine noise (65 dB(A)) resulted in participants driving at faster speeds than in the medium (75 dB(A)) and high (85 dB(A)) levels of engine noise conditions. The low noise feedback conditions were also associated with decreases in driver comfort. Experiment 2 also demonstrated that low levels of engine noise feedback (no feedback and 70 dB(A)) were associated with increases in driving speed, and driving violations relative to higher levels of feedback (75 dB(A) and 80 dB(A)). Implications exist for current car manufacturing trends which emphasise a growing increase in noise insulation for the driver. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Do coping strategies moderate the relationship between escapism and negative gaming outcomes in World of Warcraft (MMORPG) players?

A link between escapist motivations for playing Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) and negative outcomes associated with play has been previously established. However, not all escapists experience the same level of negative gaming outcomes, and the underlying mechanisms have yet to be explored. The purpose of this study was to determine if individual differences in engaged and disengaged coping styles could explain differences in outcomes. Cross-sectional survey data from adult players of World of Warcraft (WoW) were collected (N = 217), using measures of negative gaming outcomes, escapism, and individual coping style. Primary analysis revealed that disengaged coping strategies were positively correlated with both escapist motivations and negative outcomes, and the engaged coping strategies of Problem Solving and Social Support were negatively correlated with negative gaming outcomes. The main analyses revealed that the relationship between escapist motivations for play and negative gaming outcomes was moderated by problem-focused coping strategies. This study offers novel insight into video game research, demonstrating that individual coping styles play a role in moderating the relationship between gaming motivation and the negative outcomes associated with video gaming

'It's pathological': Exploring gaps in the whole-systems approach for managing operations and safety risk at a fully automatic rail level crossing

There are 23,500 level crossings in Australia. In these risky environments, it is important to understand what human factor issues are present and how road users and pedestrians engage with crossings. On-site observations were performed over a 2-day period at a 3-track active crossing. This was followed by 52 interviews with level crossing users. Over 700 separate violations were recorded, with representations in multiple categories (e.g. going through flashing lights >2s after starting flashing; stopping on crossing). Time stamping revealed that the crossing was active for 59% of the time in some morning periods and trains could take up to 4-min to arrive following first activation. Users experienced frustration due to delays caused by the frequency of trains, which increased likelihood of risk-taking. Analysis of interview data identified themes associated with congestion, safety, and violations. This work offers insight into context specific issues associated with active level crossing protection

Adopt, adapt, and improve: Assessment of a new driver display in rail

This project evaluated the impact of a new enhanced information display intended as a cognitive aid on the operating performance of Locomotive Engineers (i.e. Train Drivers) within a large New Zealand freight rail network. The display previewed the upcoming route and presented information capable of optimising the performance of the locomotive. It did not exert any direct influence over the train and therefore did not take any decision-making capacity away from the driver. The addition of this technology represented a step-change for the organisation and a considerable investment for furthering safety and performance by improving the situation awareness of train drivers. Improving situation awareness is likely to lead to improved decision-making and hence performance and safety (Endsley, 1999) However, given the impact on ways of working for the train driver, and on the development of the organisation, acquiring insight into the cognitive, organisational and/or physical ergonomics impact of the technology was critical and attracted the need for a human factors assessment

On the horns of a dilemma: Key factors informing train horn use at rail level crossings

Questions are arising as to whether train horn use at level crossings remain beneficial for all types of crossings, environments, and users. Six focus groups were undertaken with experienced train drivers (n = 19) across five rail organisations and three Australian states, with data collected using a scenario-based task. Study findings revealed that train horn utilisation was highly varied, considered beneficial in some situations, but non-beneficial in others. The results suggest that the uses of trains horns need to be carefully unpacked if more clarity in policy and direction in potential alternatives is to be further investigated

Visual performance at passive level crossings with long sighting distances

The third edition of the Australian Standard AS1742 Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices Part 7 provides a method of calculating the sighting distance required to safely proceed at passive level crossings based on the physics of moving vehicles. This required distance becomes greater with higher line speeds and slower, heavier vehicles so that it may return quite a long sighting distance. However, at such distances, there are also concerns around whether drivers would be able to reliably identify a train in order to make an informed decision regarding whether it would be safe to proceed across the level crossing. In order to determine whether drivers are able to make reliable judgements to proceed in these circumstances, this study assessed the distance at which a train first becomes identifiable to a driver as well as their, ability to detect the movement of the train. A site was selected in Victoria, and 36 participants with good visual acuity observed 4 trains in the 100-140 km/h range. While most participants could detect the train from a very long distance (2.2 km on average), they could only detect that the train was moving at much shorter distances (1.3 km on average). Large variability was observed between participants, with 4 participants consistently detecting trains later than other participants. Participants tended to improve in their capacity to detect the presence of the train with practice, but a similar trend was not observed for detection of the movement of the train. Participants were consistently poor at accurately judging the approach speed of trains, with large underestimations at all investigated distances