Maximising parent involvement in the pedestrian safety of 4 to 6 year old children: December 2005

In Australia, pedestrian injury is the leading specific cause of death among five to nine year old children (AI Yaman, Bryant & Sargeant 2002). In 1999-00 in Australia, there were 1,144 hospitalisations of children aged 0-14 years for pedestrian injuries, with a hospitalisation rate of 29.1 per 100,000 children. These rates decreased with age and were lowest for children aged 1 0-14 years. Pedestrian injuries among 0-14 year olds in 1999-00 were the second highest cause of hospitalisation in children (AI Yaman, Bryant & Sargeant 2002). While fatalities from pedestrian injuries among children 0-14 years have declined from 3.7 per 100,000 children in 1991 to 2.7 in 2000, the reductions are mostly among 10-14 year olds rather than those aged 1-4 years (UNICEF 2001 ). In WA this may be a result of road safety initiatives targeting older children

On the design of the manifold for a race car

This paper involves the design and construction of the intake manifold system of the FSAE car including the air shroud, air filter, throttle body, restrictor plenum, fuel injectors, fuel rail and runners. To ensure the quality, the proposed system is designed based on the FSAE rules. The design process of the intake manifold system will consist of the usual engineering processes including computer modelling, Finite Element Analysis and finally Computational Fluid Dynamics testing in order to determine the validity of the model and to tune the design in order to obtain the optimum performance out of the intake manifold system as a whole

On the Design of the Manifold for a Race Car

This paper involves the design and construction of the intake manifold system of the FSAE car including the air shroud, air filter, throttle body, restrictor plenum, fuel injectors, fuel rail and runners. To ensure the quality, the proposed system is designed based on the FSAE rules. The design process of the intake manifold system will consist of the usual engineering processes including computer modelling, Finite Element Analysis and finally Computational Fluid Dynamics testing in order to determine the validity of the model and to tune the design in order to obtain the optimum performance out of the intake manifold system as a whole

Formative study of aggression prevention and reduction in junior primary school: final report presented to the Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation: book 1 of 2

This one year formative study aimed to conduct a feasibility trial of current evidencebased practice to reduce and prevent aggression among junior primary school age children. The project comprised three stages: assessing the types of direct and indirect aggression among junior primary school students and the current practices of teachers and schools to address this behaviour and linking successful current practices to evidence-based research to inform the development of a classroom teaching and behaviour management intervention. Aggression is broadly defined as negative acts which are used intentionally to harm others, and may be classified as proactive, reactive or instrumental aggression. (Smith, Cowie, Olafsson, & Liefooghe, 2002). Whilst interventions to reduce aggression in junior primary school are limited, much research has described the risk and protective factors of aggression. Risk factors of aggressive behaviour include familial, school, and individual. Familial risk factors include: parents not providing clear rules, use of corporal punishment, setting poor examples, displaying conflict or violence and providing poor supervision. School risk factors comprise a lack of school structure and adult supervision, indifferent attitudes of school staff toward aggression; and few consequences of negative behaviours. Individual risk factors such as an impulsive and dominant personality, positive attitudes toward school violence and negative self concept also contribute to aggressive behaviours in young children. Conversely, research has also identified protective factors that are likely to reduce a child\u27s use of aggressive behaviours. These can also be classified as familial, school and individual factors and comprise: parental involvement, attitudes and beliefs not supportive of aggression, emotional and social support from teachers and peers at school; high self esteem; positive outlook and pro-social skills. This study aimed to combine a thorough review of available literature with consultation with stakeholders and teachers to develop and test principles for best practice to reduce aggression and improve social skills. Outcomes of this study have provided an insight into current practice in Western Australian schools as well as stakeholders opinions on this current practice and their ideas for future directions in this field. Most importantly, this research has presented an evidence-based summary of best practice in reducing aggression and improving social skills of junior primary school children. Further, this model has been validated by experts and summarised according to the Health Promoting Schools model for ease of future implementation. This best practice model will be used in future research to inform the development of a large scale aggression reduction and social skill development intervention trial for Western Australian primary schools

Impact of extra-curricular activities on adolescents\u27 connectedness and cigarette smoking: annual report

Cigarette smoking is the primary cause of preventable death in Australia, killing approximately 19,000 people every year.8 Up to 90% of smokers begin smoking by 18 years of age.9,10 In spite of the obvious public health burden, current approaches have led to very modest decreases in adolescent smoking in the past 10 years. 11 The Smoking Cessation for Youth Project (SCYP)4 was a cluster randomised control trial that resulted in lower cigarette smoking among Year 10 students who received a harm minimisation intervention over two years. This project also led to the identification of connectedness as a key mediator of cigarette smoking. In a subsequent formative evaluation, we have explored the role of extra-curricular activities in mediating school connectedness (details later). This longitudinal cohort study seeks to quantify the potential benefits of participation in extra-curricular activities, via increases in school, family and community connectedness, in reducing cigarette smoking and a range of other health compromising behaviours

Outcome evaluation of the school drug education project: final report presented to the school drug education and road aware project

In 2002, Curtin University\u27s Western Australian Centre for Health Promotion Research provided a report which explored the feasibility of a range of options to evaluate the impact of the School Drug Education Project (SDEP) on students\u27 drug use, perceptions of drug-related harm and attitudes towards drug use. Given the difficulties of achieving a prospective design, this proposal recommended comparing retrospective measures of SDEP participation, level of SDEP training and dose of SDEP implementation with Years 8-12 student drug-related outcome data collected from four large Western Australian studies conducted somewhat concurrently with the School Drug Education Project. It was hypothesised that if the School Drug Education Project has been effective, students exposed to more of the Project\u27s components would have lower drug use, more favourable perceptions of drug-related harm and drug-related attitudes than those who have received less or none. This report describes our research methods, results, discussion and recommendations from the findings for this impact evaluation of the School Drug Education Project. The Years 8-12 student drug-related data were sourced from four research projects I studies. These studies were the Smoking Cessation for Youth Project (SCYP) which involved over 4,000 Years 9-12 students from metropolitan government schools; the School Health and Alcohol Harm Reduction Project (SHAHRP), which involved 2,300 Years 8-10 students from government metropolitan schools; the 1999 and the 2002 Australian Student Survey of Alcohol and Drugs (ASSAD 1999 and ASSAD 2002) each with over 3,500 Years 8 -12 students from country and metropolitan, government and non-government schools. These studies had collected data since the commencement of the School Drug Education Project and provided a number of potential measures of the effectiveness of this Project

Safe Pass

The purpose of this project is to design a sensor to be mounted on Class IV and higher vehicles to detect on-coming traffic. If traffic has been detected, the system is to warn drivers behind the stopped vehicle that passing is unsafe. The vehicle detection is to be implemented using a LiDAR detection method along with signal processing. A wireless transceiver is to transmit from the front radar module to the rear warning indicator module when the conditions are unsafe for passing. The project goals are to increase road safety and maintain traffic flow. The report details the challenges due to the wireless link and the original radar approach

A randomised control trial to reduce bullying and other aggressive behaviours in secondary schools

In Australia bullying tends to peak twice in a school student\u27s life - firstly at age 1 0 to 12 and then during the two years following their transition to secondary school (Rigby, 1994; Slee, 1995b) This transition to secondary school is considered a critical period to intervene on bullying (Farrington, 1993; Rigby, 1997, 1999; Sharp, 1995; Stevens, Bourdeaudhuij, & Van Oost, 2000; Whitney & Smith, 1993). It is suggested that compared with primary schools, the change in friendship structures that accompanies the move to secondary school, large student numbers and the less consistent contact and fewer close relationships between students and staff are factors contributing to the increase in bullying at this age (Stevens, Bourdeaudhuij et al., 2000; Patton, 2000)..

Preventing Disability Among Working Participants in Kansas’ High-risk Insurance Pool: Implications for Health Reform

Health conditions that prevent individuals from working full time can restrict their access to health insurance. For people living in the 35 states that offer high-risk pools, coverage is available but premiums are 125–200% of standard rates. Additionally, high cost-sharing means enrollees often defer needed care because they must pay large amounts out of pocket. Lack of access may lead to poor health outcomes and disability. The Kansas DMIE investigated whether improving insurance coverage for such a group would improve their health status and reduce their risk of transition to full Social Security disability. Half of the 508 participants received enhanced benefits and nurse case management, the other half received usual risk pool coverage. Outcomes were measured through telephone surveys, focus groups, and claims analysis. Utilization of services increased and health status stabilized for the intervention group, while health status of the control group significantly declined. These findings have broad implications because some plans to be offered under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (P.L. 111–148) have similarly high out-of-pocket costs. Considering the long-term cost of full disability, providing adequate health insurance benefits for individuals at high risk of disability may be cost effective.Kansas Health Policy Authority, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (no. 11-P-92389/7-01)