German taxi drivers' experiences and expressions of driving anger: Are the driving anger scale and the driving anger expression inventory valid measures?

Objective: The objective of this article was 2-fold: firstly, we wanted to examine whether the original Driving Anger Scale (DAS) and the original Driving Anger Expression Inventory (DAX) apply to German professional taxi drivers because these scales have previously been given to professional and particularly to nonprofessional drivers in different countries. Secondly, we wanted to examine possible differences in driving anger experience and expression between professional German taxi drivers and nonprofessional German drivers.

Methods: We applied German versions of the DAS, the DAX, and the State–Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) to a sample of 138 professional German taxi drivers. We then compared their ratings to the ratings of a sample of 1,136 nonprofessional German drivers (Oehl and Brandenburg n.d. Oehl M, Brandenburg S. Driving anger in Germany: validation of the Driving Anger Scale (DAS). Saf Sci. n.d. submitted.  [Google Scholar]).

Results: Regarding our first objective, confirmatory factor analysis shows that the model fit of the DAS is better for nonprofessional drivers than for professional drivers. The DAX applies neither to professional nor to nonprofessional German drivers properly. Consequently, we suggest modified shorter versions of both scales for professional drivers. The STAXI applies to both professional and nonprofessional drivers. With respect to our second objective, we show that professional drivers experience significantly less driving anger than nonprofessional drivers, but they express more driving anger.

Conclusions: We conclude that the STAXI can be applied to professional German taxi drivers. In contrast, for the DAS and the DAX we found particular shorter versions for professional taxi drivers. Especially for the DAX, most statements were too strong for German drivers to agree to. They do not show behaviors related to driving anger expression as they are described in the DAX. These problems with the original American DAX items are in line with several other studies in different countries. Future investigations should examine whether (professional) drivers from further countries express their anger as proposed by the DAX. In addition, professional drivers experience less driving anger (DAS) and less general trait anger (STAXI) than nonprofessional drivers, but they report more driving anger expression (DAX) and more current general state anger (STAXI). Subsequent studies should therefore focus on different types of anger within the group of professional drivers.     

A multilevel perspective of interpersonal trust: Individual,dyadic, and cross‐level predictors of performance

While it is generally known that interpersonal trust facilitates individual functioning, few studies have examined the role of specific features of the interpersonal trust network — individual, dyadic, third‐party, and network‐level features — on individual performance. We adopt a multilevel perspective of interpersonal trust to examine how individuals' performance is not only predicted by their individual‐level centrality in the interpersonal trust network but also moderated, at the network level, by the overall centralized nature of that network. Further, we examine whether mutual trust relationships at the dyadic level, as well as shared trust ties to common third parties, can predict individuals' performance. We test our hypotheses with 206 members in 15 professional networking groups and find that interpersonal trust operates at multiple levels to predict members' performance in terms of generating income from business referrals. These findings provide theoretical and practical implications on how interpersonal trust relationships operate and can be managed for performance gains. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Slow eyelid closure as a measure of driver drowsiness and its relationship to performance

Objective: Slow eyelid closure is recognized as an indicator of sleepiness in sleep-deprived individuals, although automated ocular devices are not well validated. This study aimed to determine whether changes in eyelid closure are evident following acute sleep deprivation as assessed by an automated device and how ocular parameters relate to performance after sleep deprivation.

Methods: Twelve healthy professional drivers (45.58 ± 10.93 years) completed 2 randomized sessions: After a normal night of sleep and after 24 h of total sleep deprivation. Slow eye closure (PERCLOS) was measured while drivers performed a simulated driving task.

Results: Following sleep deprivation, drivers displayed significantly more eyelid closure (P < .05), greater variation in lane position (P < .01) and more attentional lapses (P < .05) compared to after normal sleep. PERCLOS was moderately associated with variability in both vigilance performance (r = 0.68, P < .05) and variation in lane position on the driving task (r = 0.61, P < .05).

Conclusions: Automated ocular measurement appears to be an effective means of detecting impairment due to sleep loss in the laboratory.     

我省高等职业教育的发展战略研究

我省高职教育面临经费和办学力量不足、缺乏竞争优势等问题,高职学院尚未形成自我发展的能力和机制,缺乏良好的社会环境,没有被社会完全接受和认同,发展我省高职教育,必须构建自身的理论体系,合理规划学院布局和专业设置,加强师资队伍建设,完善教材体系,走内涵为主的发展道路,使高职教育成为国家高等教育的有机组成部分。     

Graduate Student's Guide to Necessary Skills for Nonacademic Conservation Careers

Graduate education programs in conservation science generally focus on disciplinary training and discipline‐specific research skills. However, nonacademic conservation professionals often require an additional suite of skills. This discrepancy between academic training and professional needs can make it difficult for graduate students to identify the skills and experiences that will best prepare them for the conservation job market. We analyzed job advertisements for conservation‐science positions and interviewed conservation professionals with experience hiring early‐career conservation scientists to determine what skills employers of conservation professionals seek; whether the relative importance of skills varies by job sector (government, nonprofit, and private); and how graduate students interested in careers in conservation science might signal competency in key skills to potential employers. In job advertisements, disciplinary, interpersonal, and project‐management skills were in the top 5 skills mentioned across all job sectors. Employers’ needs for additional skills, like program leadership, conflict resolution and negotiation, and technical and information technology skills, varied across sectors. Our interview results demonstrated that some skills are best signaled to employers via experiences obtained outside thesis or dissertation work. Our findings suggest that graduate students who wish to be competitive in the conservation job market can benefit by gaining skills identified as important to the job sector in which they hope to work and should not necessarily expect to be competent in these skills simply by completing their chosen degree path. Guía para el Estudiante de Grado de las Habilidades Necesarias para Carreras de Conservación Académicas     

Testing Hypotheses of Bird Extinctions at Rio Palenque,Ecuador, with Informal Species Lists

Abstract: Informally gathered species lists are a potential source of data for conservation biology, but most remain unused because of questions of reliability and statistical issues. We applied two alternative analytical methods (contingency tests and occupancy modeling) to a 35‐year data set (1973–2007) to test hypotheses about local bird extinction. We compiled data from bird lists collected by expert amateurs and professional scientists in a 2‐km² fragment of lowland tropical forest in coastal Ecuador. We tested the effects of the following on local extinction: trophic level, sociality, foraging specialization, light tolerance, geographical range area, and biogeographic source. First we assessed extinction on the basis of the number of years in which a species was not detected on the site and used contingency tests with each factor to compare the frequency of expected and observed extinction events among different species categories. Then we defined four multiyear periods that reflected different stages of deforestation and isolation of the study site and used occupancy modeling to test extinction hypotheses singly and in combination. Both types of analyses supported the biogeographic source hypothesis and the species‐range hypothesis as causes of extinction; however, occupancy modeling indicated the model incorporating all factors except foraging specialization best fit the data.     

国外工程教育(本科)专业认证分析与借鉴

介绍国际相互承认的协议——《华盛顿协议》(WA);分析美国、德国和英国等国家工程教育(本科)专业认证机构的特点、准则和程序;揭示各国发展教育路径不同,环境与条件各异,体现的以行业为背景、以行业专家为核心的理念。同时介绍我国工程教育(本科)专业认证试点工作的状况、工作程序、通用标准和专业标准;分析工程教育(本科)专业认证的基本内涵;明确工程教育(本科)专业认证标准是指导工程教育(本科)专业发展的准绳。笔者认为,该专业认证标准对维护工程教育(本科)专业认证的权威性、保证工程教育(本科)质量、促进工程专业人才的流动有至关重要的作用。     

专业认证背景下的安全工程专业特色教育研究与实践

回顾专业认证在国内外的发展情况,简单介绍《安全工程专业本科教育认证标准》的内容和安全工程专业认证近年来在国内的发展情况。根据南华大学的实际情况,提出在专业认证的背景下,针对行业特点,实行分方向设置课程和从事教学活动。南华大学安全工程专业主要依托"核"行业背景,下设核安全、建筑安全和化工安全3个方向;3个专业方向分别设置了不同的基础课、专业基础课、专业课和选修课;课程设置符合《安全工程专业本科教育认证标准》的要求,并严格按照教学计划开展教学。实践证明,该项教学改革取得明显成效,该校安全工程专业近两年的就业率和考研率都居于全校前列,并且就业单位具有明显的行业特点。     

我国造船业的职业危害与对策研究

详细论述了船舶建造过程中及修理过程中的职业危害 ,提出了控制这些危害的措施。     

高职法律实务教育体系下学生能力的培养——以高职法科学生的就业为视角

随着我国司法体制改革的推进,高职法科毕业生直接进入纯法律职业领域已很渺茫。面对这样的形势,变革高职法学教育,建立以能力培养为核心的高职法律实务教育体系势在必行。从高职法律实务教育体系下学生能力培养的目标定位出发,结合学生应具备的五项基本能力,以学生就业为视角,阐述了高职法律实务教育体系下学生能力培养的自我实现方式。