The psychosocial impacts of driving cessation in later life : experiences, coping, and well-being

Older adults may face multiple and often overwhelming losses when they give up driving, creating a need for adjustment (Adler & Rottunda, 2006; M. J. Bauer, Rottunda, & Adler, 2003; Bedard & Kafka, 2008; Bonnel, 1999a; Carp, 1971; Cutler, 1972; Dellinger, Sehgal, Sleet, & Barrett-Connor, 2001; J.A. Kelley-Moore, J.G. Schumacher, E. Kahana, & B. Kahana, 2006; Liddle, Turpin, Carlson, & McKenna, 2008; Shope, 2003; Whitehead, Howie, & Lovell, 2006). Furthermore, driving cessation is related to poorer psychological well-being (Fonda, Wallace, & Herzog, 2001; Marottoli et al., 1997; Ragland, Satariano, & MacLeod, 2005; Windsor, Anstey, Butterworth, Luszcz, & Andrews, 2007). This thesis focuses on the impacts of no longer driving on psychological well-being, among an Australian population aged 65 years and above. Driving cessation literature is reviewed and embedded within the general context of older adult driving research. The Stress-Coping paradigm framework is adopted to better understand poorer well-being in relation to the post-cessation phase of driving within a broad spatial and temporal context. Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000a, 2000b; Ryan, 2009) and the Assimilative and Accommodative Model of Coping (Brandtstadter & Renner, 1990a, 1992) provide the theoretical foundations from which to examine the driving status-well-being relationship. Questions addressed include: What are the experiences of older adults who give up driving? What is the impact of driving cessation stressors on well-being? Why is driving cessation experienced negatively? And, does coping buffer the effects of driving cessation on well-being? The Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) (A. T. Beck & Alford, 2009; A. T. Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979; J. S. Beck, 1995) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) (Luoma, et al., 2007) approaches to the conceptualisation and treatment of depressive symptoms generally, and specifically among older ex-drivers, and implications for policy makers are discussed

Effectiveness of behavioral programming and the traumatic brain injury waiver program: a caregiver\u27s perspective.

The purpose of this exploratory study is to determine the effectiveness of behavioral services offered to adults, ages sixteen to sixty-five, through the Traumatic Brain lnjury Waiver Program (TBIW). This community-based program provides the level of behavioral services previously only available to institutionalized individuals. 2l identified primary caregivers were sent a questionnaire consisting of qualitative ond quantitative questions to assess their perceptions and understanding of the services provided. Discussion focuses on a comparison of the research findings in relation to existing literature. Implications for the social work practice include the need for ongoing education and community support for individuals with Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI), as identified by their primary caregivers

Capitalizing on a Captive Audience: A Collaborative Workshop Connecting Graduate Students to Open Access

The complexities of Open Access can result in uninformed high-stakes decision-making for researchers on the cusp of entering the publishing world. Graduate students need to understand how Open Access influences their research practices, and how to negotiate rights in a complex publishing ecosystem. Here we describe a collaboration between research librarians and writing center professionals that integrates Open Access education into a workshop series on graduate student writing. Specifically, we co-designed a presentation that bridged manuscript preparation (an obvious publication step) with the less-obvious issues surrounding Open Access

Changing medical student attitudes to patient safety: A multicentre study

Background: Although patient safety is becoming widely taught in medical schools, its effect has been less rigorously evaluated. We describe a multicentre study to evaluate student changes in patient safety attitudes using a standardized instrument, the Attitudes to Patient Safety Questionnaire3 (APSQ3). Methods: A patient safety training package designed for medical students was delivered in the first year and second year in four Australian medical schools. It comprises eight face-to-face modules, each of two hours. Seminars start with an interactive introduction using questions, video and role play, followed by small group break-outs to discuss a relevant case study. Groups are led by medical school tutors with no prior training in patient safety. Students and tutors then reassemble to give feedback and reinforce key concepts. Knowledge and attitudes to patient safety were measured using the APSQ3, delivered prior to safety teaching, at the end of the first and second years and 12 months after teaching ceased. Results: A significant improvement in attitude over time was demonstrated for four of nine key items measured by the APSQ3: value of patient safety teaching; danger of long working hours, value of team work and the contribution patients can make in reducing error. Informal feedback from students was very positive. Conclusion: We showed persistent, positive learning from a patient safety education intervention 12 months after teaching finished. Building on the introduction of patient safety teaching into medical schools, pathways for motivated students such as appropriate electives, option terms and team-based research projects would be of value

Accessibility: Opening Windows to Digital Collections

Accessibility is a growing concern for universities and academic libraries as they create and provide more digital resources for their communities. The development of best practices for accessible web pages and documents is well underway. To date, no in-depth study of digital content management systems has been done. This poster summarizes the authors\u27 initial research into the accessibility provided to visually-impaired users by two of the most used digital collections platforms in libraries: CONTENTdm and Digital Commons. An accessible transcript of the poster content is available below

Going Beyond Availability: Truly Accessible Research Data

In 2012 “the Alliance for Disability and Students at the University of Montana—ADSUM —filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education alleging [that] students … who have disabilities face discrimination at UM” (Szpaller, 2012, para. 4). Two years later, the President of the University of Montana (UM) signed a resolution agreement with the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (UM/OCR resolution agreement, 2014). This resolution agreement focuses heavily on the accessibility of electronic and information technology for individuals with disabilities and outlines action strategies for remediating all UM websites, learning management systems, library services, and classrooms. This agreement represents a trend towards stricter enforcement of accessibility legislation in the higher education arena (Grossman, 2014)

Do you hear what I see? Assessing accessibility of Digital Commons and CONTENTdm

This article discusses the accessibility of two content management systems, Berkeley Electronic Press’ Digital Commons and OCLC’s CONTENTdm, widely used in libraries to host institutional repository and digital collections content. Based on observations by a visually-impaired student who used the JAWS screen reader to view the design and display of digital objects in both systems, we provide a general overview of the accessibility of each system. We discuss potential suggestions for accessibility-related improvements, and we offer ideas for library administrators of these systems about how to maximize the back-end configurations for accessibility

Considerations and Challenges for Describing Historical Research Data: A Case Study

This case study describes the several challenges faced by Library personnel at the University of Montana as they iteratively made an historical dataset available in the institutional repository in a way that attempted to optimize its discoverability, accessibility, searchability, and usability to current and future researchers. The authors will examine the development of this multi-media dataset collection in order to discuss the specific challenges and opportunities around: describing and making available an historical dataset, repository structures, metadata specifications, and accessibility requirements

Maintaining digital collections with declining resources, fewer staff

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe methods for restructuring workflows and efficiently using staff members and volunteers to continue work on multiple, simultaneous digital collections as budgets and resources decline. Design/methodology/approach – This paper describes one library’s varied approaches to several digital collections supported by literature or volunteers in libraries. Findings – In the face of continually declining resources and new, time-sensitive priorities and compliance responsibilities, librarians can continue to maintain digital collections by modifying workflows, using the services of volunteers and communicating strategically. Practical implications – This paper is relevant to librarians, archivists and others who are looking for ways to justify and capitalize on the use of unconventional personnel in digital collections programs. Originality/value – This paper presents a case of the successful use of volunteers to accomplish digital collections-related tasks in an academic library and provides a communication-based strategy for addressing some of the challenges related to volunteers in academic libraries