How Can Career Switchers and Teachers Without Formal Training Be Quickly Prepared to Teach Engineering and Technology Education?

Old Dominion University (ODU) provides a six-hour, hands on workshop to train technology education teachers in design-based learning, production laboratory safety, and laboratory management. The teachers are provided with information about technology education content and pedagogy as well as safety contracts, legal liability, and machine use and maintenance. Teachers in this workshop learn (or update) important laboratory safety procedures and tool skills through instruction, demonstrations, and an active learning project. The workshop is co-hosted by the ODU Technology Education Program and the Virginia Technology and Engineering Education Association (VTEEA). Three workshops have been held and program interest is increasing. The first workshop had 10 attendees while the second had 20 with a waiting list of 15 teachers. The third workshop was hosted by Arlington public schools and had nine teachers. A new program comprising of six, two-hour sessions is being conducted with Virginia Beach City Public Schools. Professional Development points are provided through the Virginia Department of Education. The teachers are provided materials and instruction on professionalism, ethics, and professional organization involvement

Effect of realistic vehicle seats, cushion length, and lap belt geometry on child ATD kinematics

This series of sled tests examined the effect of using real vehicle seats on child ATD performance. Cushion length was varied from production length of 450 mm to a shorter length of 350 mm. Lap belt geometry was set to rear, mid, and forward anchorage locations that span the range of allowable lap belt angles found in real vehicles. Six tests each were performed with the standard Hybrid III 6YO and 10YO ATDs. One additional test was performed using a booster seat with the 6YO. An updated version of the UMTRI seating procedure was used to position the ATDs that positions the ATD hips further forward with longer seat cushions to reflect the effect of cushion length on posture that has been measured with child volunteers. ATD kinematics were evaluated using peak head excursion, peak knee excursion, the difference between peak head and peak knee excursion, and the minimum torso angle. Shortening the seat cushion improved kinematic outcomes, particularly for the 10YO. Lap belt geometry had a greater effect on kinematics with the longer cushion length, with mid and forward belt geometries producing better kinematics than the rearward belt geometry. The worst kinematics for both ATDs occurred with the long cushion length and rearward lap belt geometry. The improvements in kinematics from shorter cushion length or more forward belt geometry are smaller than those provided by a booster seat. The results show potential benefits in occupant protection from shortening cushion length, particularly for children the size of the 10YO ATD.National Highway Traffic Safety Administrationhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90972/1/102859.pd

Youth and Public Transit: A Knowledge Synthesis of Recent Publications

Historically, youth (13-25) have been one of the most active user groups of public transit in Canada, accounting for one-third of ridership nation-wide, and up to two-thirds in cities such as Moose Jaw, SK and Red Deer, AB (Canadian Urban Transit Association, 2004). Despite their high usage of public transportation, youth as a specific category of riders have received an underwhelming amount of focus by academics and transit authorities. This report synthesizes the last ten years of evidence, policy, and pilot projects related to youth as a public transportation user group in order to provide an up-to-date summary of the state of knowledge in this area. Youth and public transportation research is identified and evaluated, including data sources and gaps. Media coverage of the issue is also considered, as many of the concerns of youth, public debates, and pilot programs related to youth and public transit are only referenced in this format. The final section of this work consists of an evidence-based agenda for future research and policy, with an eye toward enhancing the equity of access to transit systems for youth riders

Evidence Brief: Youth and Public Transit

This short report summarizes the literature related to youth and transit, with a focus on demand, barriers, youth advocacy, various types of passes (i.e., U-PASS, free or reduced-fares), and active transportation

Free and Reduced-Fare Transportation for Youth

This short report summarizes the literature related to free and reduced-fare transportation for youth, including motivations for such programs, Canadian initiatives, and assessments

Validation of a new measure of concept of a good death

BACKGROUND: The concept of a good death is central to end-of-life care research. Despite its importance and the high interest in the topic, there are few measures currently available for use in clinical research. PURPOSE: The present work describes the development and testing of a set of items intended to measure the importance of several components posited to be critical to the concept of a good death. It is intended for use with health care providers and lay people in the context of end-of-life care research and education. POPULATION: Four cohorts (n = 596) were recruited to participate, representing two helping profession disciplines, nonhelping professionals, and a range of ages, specifically: (1) undergraduate medical students; (2) master\u27s degree students in nursing; (3) graduate students from the life sciences; and (4) practicing hospice nurses. METHODS: Participants completed self-report questionnaires at baseline and retest. Psychometric analyses included item frequency distributions, factor analysis, alpha reliability, intraclass correlation, and measures of association. RESULTS: The new Concept of a Good Death measure demonstrated good item frequency distributions, acceptable internal consistency reliability, and test-retest stability. Its factor structure revealed that three distinct domains are measured, reflecting the psychosocial/spiritual, physical, and clinical aspects of a good death. An examination of patterns of correlations showed differential associations with death anxiety, spiritual beliefs and practices, anxious mood, and sociodemographic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: The new Concept of a Good Death instrument appears to measure three distinct factors which people consider important to a Good Death. Ratings of the importance of these factors are reliable and valid. The instrument has the advantage of being a brief, self-report index for use in end-of-life care research

Optimizing protection for rear seat occupants: assessing booster performance with realistic belt geometry using the Hybrid III 6YO ATD

A series of sled tests was conducted to examine the performance of booster seats under belt geometries representing the range found in the rear seats of current vehicles. Twelve tests were performed with the standard 6YO Hybrid III ATD and 29 tests were performed with a modified version of the 6YO ATD. The modified dummy has a pelvis with more realistic shape and flesh stiffness, a gel abdomen with biomechanically-based stiffness characteristics, and a custom neoprene jacket. Shoulder belt upper anchorage was set at the FMVSS No. 213 belt anchorage location and 64 mm inboard and outboard from this location. Lap belt anchorage locations were chosen to span the range of lap belt angles permitted under FMVSS 210, using the FMVSS No. 213 belt anchorage locations and forward belt anchorage locations that produce a much steeper lap belt angle. Four booster seats that provide a range of static belt fit were used. The ATDs were positioned using either the standard FMVSS No. 213 seating procedure or an alternate UMTRI procedure that produces postures closer to those of similar-size children. Kinematic results for the standard and modified dummies under the same test conditions were more similar than expected. The current version of the modified 6YO is less sensitive to lap belt geometry than the prototype version of the dummy. The seating procedure had a greater affect on kinematic results. The UMTRI seating procedure produced greater knee-head excursion differences and less forward torso rotation than the FMVSS No. 213 procedure. Shifting the shoulder belt upper anchorage 128 mm laterally produced minimal variations in kinematics for a given booster seat/lap belt condition, likely because the belt-routing features of the booster seats limited the differences in static shoulder belt score to less than 10 mm. Moving the lap belt geometry from rearward (shallow angle) to forward (steep angle) produced less desirable kinematics with all booster seats tested. The forward position of the lap belt anchorage allows greater forward translation of the booster and ATD before the belt engages the pelvis. Steeper belt angles are associated with better lap belt fit for children sitting without boosters, so designing rear seat belts for children who sit with and without boosters may involve a performance tradeoff.National Highway Traffic Safety Administrationhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90973/1/102860.pd