Children’s travel as pedestrians: an international survey of policy and practice

A survey of OECD member countries was carried out to provide high level data on a consistent basis to identify and account for current patterns of child road safety . This paper reports the findings relating to children, aged 0-14 years, as pedestrians. Key survey elements included analyses of fatality data, relationships between socio-economic, demographic factors and fatality rates, and a questionnaire based survey. League tables based on average child pedestrian fatality rates were constructed for each OECD member country participating in our questionnaire enabling identification of the top five countries with the lowest pedestrian fatality rate as Sweden, The Netherlands, Finland, Germany, and Denmark. Few countries had quantitative information about children’s travel and its absence means that assessments are difficult about children’s safety and the relative risks they face, especially as pedestrians. There are large variations in the amount of walking between countries and growing car use is becoming an issue in one third of OECD countries. The main findings from the questionnaire survey were that the majority of countries did not have information on high risk groups but of those that did, the cross cutting themes of socio-economic and ethnic minority groups, young children and urban areas were identified. Three characteristics distinguish top countries in the League table from those doing less well: a strong approach to the introduction of infrastructure measures for pedestrian safety, including low speed limits in residential areas; conducting road safety campaigns at least once a year; and having legislation which assumes driver responsibility in an accident involving a child pedestrian. Having compulsory road safety education for children aged 6-9 years was a characteristic shared by most countries, as was the promotion of child pedestrian education and training initiatives and the commissioning of research. However there is lower research activity in less well performing countries

Theorizing the relationship between UK schools and migrant parents of Eastern European origin: the parents’ perspective

Schools may be particularly challenged in the building of relationships with immigrant families because of a potentially heightened mutual lack of knowledge or understanding about the other party’s cultural norms (e.g. Crozier & Davis, 2007). In the context of increased immigration from Eastern and Central European states, this study seeks to initiate the development of model of multi-cultural family-school interaction drawing on existing frameworks drawn from the fields of education, psychology and sociology. With the intention of establishing the nature of migrant parents’ constructions of their relationships with their children’s schools, we carried out in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 10 parents of school age children who had migrated to the UK from Eastern and Central Europe within the past 10 years. The key themes from the interviews indicated that the parents’ expectations of their children’s schooling appear to clash with those of the UK school system and that this is amplified by perceptions of poor communication, inadequate school-parent cooperation & marginalisation. Through the use of existing theoretical frameworks it was established that there is potential for improved practice though development of a model though this must take account of the full contextual complexity of the relationships

Fatal injuries to car occupants: analysis of health and population data

Although this report was commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT), the findings and recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the DfT. While the DfT has made every effort to ensure the information in this document is accurate, DfT does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of that information; and it cannot accept liability for any loss or damages of any kind resulting from reliance on the information or guidance this document contains

Synthesis and effectiveness of a new cyclohexyl chiral auxiliary and studies towards the systhesis of bicyclo[4.4.4]tetradeca-3,8,12-triyne

Thesis (M.Sc.) -- University of Adelaide, Dept. of Chemistry, 199

Pushing the boundaries: the impact of the changing nature of the professions in construction law.

The way in which the role of the professions is understood in society is changing. One of the traditional effects of being a profession was that the relevant group was regarded as having a virtual monopoly over the provision of services in the area in which it operated. As the understanding of what a 'profession' is has been put under pressure and changed, there is increasing scope for competition between the professions in the provision of particular services. There is increasing scope for 'turf wars' between professions as the boundaries between them are tested through competition for work. This is particularly apparent in the construction industry where there are number of traditional professions operating in similar fields - and in conjunction with other roles which have many 'profession-like' features. Much of this requires commercial and sociological consideration. These will be discussed briefly but the focus of this paper will be on the emerging legal issues in this area. This article looks at recent cases where the courts have looked at issues which arise when professions encroach upon each other's areas of operation. Moreover, in Scotland, a new 'profession' drawing on those with construction industry experience has been granted rights to essentially compete with the legal profession in presenting cases in court. Following discussion of these developments, the lessons this might have for the future coexistence of the professions will be discussed