Practicing for and performance on drivers license tests in relation to gender differences in crash involvement among novice drivers

PROBLEM: Young male novice drivers are overrepresented in injury motor-vehicle crashes compared to females in the same category. This difference in crash involvement is often assumed to include factors such as overestimation, risk acceptance, and sensation seeking, but it can also be related to acquisition of knowledge, skills, insight, and driving experience. Therefore, this study explored possible gender differences among 18-24-year-olds in Sweden regarding practicing as learners, outcome of the driver's tests, and crash involvement during the first year after licensure. METHOD: Data for 2005 from different sources (e.g., questionnaires, license test, and crash statistics) were examined. It was not possible to follow individual subjects through all stages or in all analyses. Nevertheless, the study design did enable scrutinization and discussion of gender differences between younger inexperienced drivers with respect to education and training, license test results, and initial period of licensure. RESULTS: Males and females assimilated tuition in different ways. Females studied more theory, pursued training in a more structured manner, practiced more elements of driving in several different environments, and participated more extensively in driving school instruction. National statistics showed that females did better on the written test but not on the driving test. Males were involved in 1.9 more injury crashes per 1,000 drivers than females during their first year of licensed driving. The proportional distribution of crash types was the same for both sexes during the first period as novice drivers, but the circumstances surrounding the accidents varied (e.g., males were involved in more night crashes). IMPACT ON TRAFFIC SAFETY: More structured training while learning appears to be one of the reasons why females initially do better than males as novice drivers. Therefore, in the future, driver education should focus not only on matters such as the amount of time spent on training and preconditioning, but also on the importance of the organization and content of the learning process.     

可持续发展的教育评价体系的构建

可持续发展教育评价是可持续发展教育的重要组成部分,是推动可持续发展教育规范化的保证。中国关于学生的可持续发展教育评价机制并不太完善,本文通过确定评价指标的科学依据和设置基本原则,构建对学生的可持续发展教育的评价体系,包括环境指标、社会指标和学分指标三类指标,并对此评价体系进行综合评判。     

大连市海岛环境意识调查与环境教育对策研究

对大连市长兴岛、大长山岛部分学生进行海岛生态安全环境意识问卷调查,通过定性与定量分析(主成分分析),了解当前海岛生态环境现状及居民环境意识、环境行为和环境意愿,为海岛可持续发展与学校环境教育研究提供重要的理论基础。希望这次问卷调查能为将来环境教育的实施提供一定的理论依据,同时也影响、改善学生的环境行为,促进环境行为和环境意识的协调发展,为提高学生的环境素养和探寻合理的环境教育模式提出建议。     

城市郊区中学环境管理现状调查与对策探讨

根据对广州郊区中学学生问卷调查和教师访谈结果,分析城市郊区中学环境管理现状,提出学校如何结合所在区域环境建设,通过建立学校环境管理体系(SEMS),从减少办学成本入手,将学校环境管理内容与课程改革紧密结合,积极争取社会力量支持和参与各种环境教育活动等,促进缩小城市与郊区中学的环境教育水平之对策。     

瑞典环保成就对中国环保的借鉴意义

文章通过了解瑞典环境保护工作的成就并分析其原因,探索如何借鉴其先进经验改善中国的环境问题。对瑞典人群的环保意识进行随机问卷调查,分析总结瑞典得以如此成功的在发展经济的同时保证环境不受到污染的主要原因,最后探讨中国如何借鉴瑞典环保经验的举措。采用随机问卷调查,对象是瑞典博朗厄市及其首都斯德哥尔摩火车、学校、书店的人群。结果显示瑞典公民有良好的环保意识,而良好的环保意识来源于政府和媒体宣传、学校和家庭教育的影响。瑞典公民认为在实现可持续发展的过程中起重要作用的因素有政府政策、环保技术的研发和公众的环保意识。这说明瑞典政府在环保法规、教育的投入和公民、企业的配合是瑞典环保成功的主要原因。鉴于此,中国应该注重教育与宣传,建立分工明确职能完善的管理机制,采取灵活有效的办法引导个人和企业。     

Case study of building of conservation coalitions to conserve ecological interactions

We engaged experts in various fields of study (pollination ecology, chemical ecology, and ethnobotany), invited community participation, and provided environmental education in an effort to conserve an endangered birthwort (Aristolochia delavayi) and a vulnerable pipevine swallowtail (Byasa daemonius). Scientists studied the uptake and sequestration of the secondary metabolites aristolochic acids from A. delavayi leaves by different stages of pipevine swallowtail as a defense mechanism; low fruit set of the myophilous A. delavayi due to pollinator limitation; and the emission of chemical signals that attract parasitic wasps by the prepupae of B. daemonius. The results of these studies were part of an education program delivered by personnel of non‐governmental organizations. The program was devised to deliver information to the public about the health risks of consuming A. delavayi individuals (aristolochic‐acid‐associated cancers) and to establish a bridge between the public and scientific research. Following delivery of the program, the behavior of residents changed considerably. Community residents were involved in management activities, including participation in a program to promote understanding of ecological interactions between A. delavayi and B. daemonius; designing an in situ conservation site; monitoring A. delavayi and B. daemonius individuals; and promoting the natural fruit set of A. delavayi by scattering animal excrement to attract fly pollinators. The integration of scientific information and community participation appears to have resulted in an increase in abundance of threatened A. delavayi and B. daemonius populations. We believe the involvement of local people in conservation is necessary for successful species conservation.     

ADULT EDUCATION AND WATERSHED KNOWLEDGE IN UPSTATE NEW YORK1

ABSTRACT: Integrated watershed management encompasses complex physical and social issues that have impacts on environmental resources. A key aspect of this holistic effort is public education. Most researchers and practitioners agree that an informed public is a crucial part of the environmental management process. Yet, educational programs that provide stakeholders with information about physical processes in watersheds are often unavailable. This paper assesses the effect of an education program for residents of the New York City watershed. Surveys evaluated certain knowledge levels and attitudes of participants and compared three groups: individuals who utilized the educational materials completely (full users), those who received the materials but did not use them completely (partial users), and watershed residents who did not receive the educational program (nonrecipients). Full users displayed a higher level of knowledge concerning specific watershed processes than did partial users and nonrecipients. In terms of applying that knowledge across linked concepts, however, we observed no significant differences between the three readership levels. Furthermore, partial users engaged in less evaluation of issues that related to the broader watershed context. The findings from this project have implications for educational and regulatory institutions and program development relating to watershed protection.     

Learning outcomes measured in zoo and aquarium conservation education

Communicating the topic of conservation to the public and encouraging proenvironmental behaviors can mitigate loss of biodiversity. Thus, the evaluation of educational efforts is important to ascertain the educational effects and provide high-quality conservation education. The learning outcomes of conservation education are diverse (e.g., attitudes, knowledge, and behavior). Considering the specific characteristics of these different outcomes and the factors that influence them is crucial to delivering successful conservation education. We reviewed 29 peer-reviewed articles published in English from January 2011 to April 2020 on empirical studies of learning outcomes of on-site conservation education in zoos and aquaria, institutions that seek to educate the public about conservation. We examined the range of learning outcomes, their definitions, and factors that influenced them. Cognitive outcomes were most frequently investigated (37%) in comparison with other outcomes (e.g., affective outcomes, 31%). The articles did not use explicit definitions for learning outcomes, and implicit or explorative definitions provided were inconsistent. Outcomes were influenced by various factors (e.g., prior experiences, staff interaction, animal behavior). Our results suggest the agenda of conservation education research should be broadened by examining all learning outcomes relevant to behavior change. Educational and behavior change theories should be used as a background for conservation education research to ensure clear and consistent definitions, derive appropriate instruments to measure learning outcomes, and relate learning outcomes to influencing factors. We recommend conservation education researchers and practitioners to treat conservation education holistically and acknowledge its learning outcomes’ full complexity.     

Inclusive education for children with disabilities in a refugee camp

Children in refugee camps, and particularly those with disabilities, face unique challenges in accessing education and are at high risk of being marginalised. Best practices suggest that main-streaming is the optimal strategy for serving students with disabilities. This study examines the extent to which mainstreaming in a refugee camp helps to promote children's prosocial behaviours, taking into account their emotional and behavioural problems. In Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya, researchers collected data from the parents of children currently enrolled in special needs education centres (n=65) and from those formerly enrolled at these facilities who transitioned to mainstream classrooms (n=81). Children in mainstream schools functioned better in terms of prosocial behaviours, but this relationship disappeared when factoring in children's emotional and behavioural difficulties. In the context of a refugee camp, mainstreaming alone is not likely to help children's psychosocial and educational functioning, which requires dedicated supports, appropriate facilities and infrastructure, and a dual focus on disability-specific and disability-inclusive initiatives.     

安全科学系列研究生新课程创建及推广经验

为填补安全科学基础理论和安全科学与工程专业研究生教育领域中安全科学类课程的空白,采用理论研究方法和基于“创新安全科学理论—发表系列论文—撰写研究生教材—开设研究生课程—向全国高校推广”的发展思路,经过10多年的不懈努力,先后在国内外行业主流期刊发表200多篇论文,并将这些系列论文编撰成专著教材出版,包括《安全科学原理》《安全科学方法学》《安全统计学》《安全信息学》《安全文化学》《现代安全教育学及其应用》等,在此基础上创建相应的研究生课程及其配套教学资源,并在全国拥有安全科学与工程等学位点的高校中推广,取得显著效果。上述安全科学系列研究生新课程的创建及其经验,可助力安全科学的发展及其应用,同时为安全新学科建设提供参考经验。