title: Does a video speed task predict risky speeding behaviour in young and inexperienced drivers?

authors: Cantwell, Stephen James

subjects: Young drivers

abstract: Vehicle crashes account for the highest number of fatalities for persons aged between 17 and 25 years of age in New Zealand. Despite a myriad of factors precipitating vehicle crashes, excess or inappropriate vehicle speed has been identified as the greatest predictor of crash likelihood and severity. Excess or inappropriate speed reduces a driver’s control over the vehicle, while exaggerating both collision force and the distances required in stopping or safely manoeuvring. One of the major differences identified between young and inexperienced and older more experienced drivers is the ability to adapt driving behaviour to road conditions. Young drivers are more prone to speeding through both a lack of awareness of risks and a desire to seek out novel and stimulating experiences. Recent developments in cognitive models of risk taking propose that older more experienced drivers may adapt their speed by “feeling out” the road conditions, where as young drivers may depend more upon posted limits to determine their speed. A video speed task was developed to measure speed preferences on a selection of road conditions (or ‘environments’) commonly confronting New Zealand motorists. Analyses of speed preferences revealed that young and inexperienced drivers preferred speeds close to the road-limit irrespective of conditions, whereas older and more experienced drivers preferred speeds clearly below the road limit, and demonstrated greater variation in speed preferences on different road environments. This suggests that young and inexperienced drivers both prefer faster speeds and may use the road limit as a target in determining an appropriate speed. Older and more experienced drivers prefer slower speeds, and adapt driving to changing road conditions. Faster preferred speeds were found to be related to a riskier attitudes towards driving in general, and more lenient attitudes toward speeding in particular. In addition, faster preferred speeds were found to be related to a heightened enjoyment of risk taking, as well as the number of speeding convictions issued in the previous 12 months. The used video speed task provided a convenient measure of speeding behaviour in natural driving scenarios, and appeared to be sensitive to differences in the way drivers adjust their behaviour across changing driving conditions. The video speed task might be useful in determining differences in speed choice between day and night time driving scenarios, as well as expanding the road conditions to including wet or foggy driving situations. This may be particularly useful in determining the pre- and post-effectiveness of driver training programs.

text: Does a video speed task predict risky speeding behaviour in young and inexperienced drivers? Vehicle crashes account for the highest number of fatalities for persons aged between 17 and 25 years of age in New Zealand. Despite a myriad of factors precipitating vehicle crashes, excess or inappropriate vehicle speed has been identified as the greatest predictor of crash likelihood and severity. Excess or inappropriate speed reduces a driver’s control over the vehicle, while exaggerating both collision force and the distances required in stopping or safely manoeuvring. One of the major differences identified between young and inexperienced and older more experienced drivers is the ability to adapt driving behaviour to road conditions. Young drivers are more prone to speeding through both a lack of awareness of risks and a desire to seek out novel and stimulating experiences. Recent developments in cognitive models of risk taking propose that older more experienced drivers may adapt their speed by “feeling out” the road conditions, where as young drivers may depend more upon posted limits to determine their speed. A video speed task was developed to measure speed preferences on a selection of road conditions (or ‘environments’) commonly confronting New Zealand motorists. Analyses of speed preferences revealed that young and inexperienced drivers preferred speeds close to the road-limit irrespective of conditions, whereas older and more experienced drivers preferred speeds clearly below the road limit, and demonstrated greater variation in speed preferences on different road environments. This suggests that young and inexperienced drivers both prefer faster speeds and may use the road limit as a target in determining an appropriate speed. Older and more experienced drivers prefer slower speeds, and adapt driving to changing road conditions. Faster preferred speeds were found to be related to a riskier attitudes towards driving in general, and more lenient attitudes toward speeding in particular. In addition, faster preferred speeds were found to be related to a heightened enjoyment of risk taking, as well as the number of speeding convictions issued in the previous 12 months. The used video speed task provided a convenient measure of speeding behaviour in natural driving scenarios, and appeared to be sensitive to differences in the way drivers adjust their behaviour across changing driving conditions. The video speed task might be useful in determining differences in speed choice between day and night time driving scenarios, as well as expanding the road conditions to including wet or foggy driving situations. This may be particularly useful in determining the pre- and post-effectiveness of driver training programs.

year: 2010

title: Managing rising residual flood risk: A national survey of Aotearoa-New Zealand

authors: Fu, Xinyu

abstract: Flooding is one of the most frequent and costliest natural hazards around the world. Traditionally, flood risk management has relied on building protective structures such as levees and dams to protect assets based on historical data (e.g., 1% AEP flood), which encourages development on floodplains, provides a potentially false sense of security to communities, particularly in the context of climate change, and increases residual flood risk (the risk remaining after implementing risk reduction measures). This article aims to contribute to the management of residual risk by drawing on empirical findings from a survey carried out with flood risk practitioners from the public and private sector in Aotearoa New Zealand. Findings indicate fundamental concerns relating to how to best manage residual flood risk, despite its long profile and integration in current policy and practice. Other issues revolve around the use of outdated information to guide decisions and the lack of regulatory power to restrict developments in flood-prone areas protected by hard defense structures. Identified barriers to improving current practice include the lack of national guidance and support, financial resources, public awareness, and some technical constraints such as uncertainties in flood modeling, staff expertise, and data availability.

text: Managing rising residual flood risk: A national survey of Aotearoa-New Zealand Flooding is one of the most frequent and costliest natural hazards around the world. Traditionally, flood risk management has relied on building protective structures such as levees and dams to protect assets based on historical data (e.g., 1% AEP flood), which encourages development on floodplains, provides a potentially false sense of security to communities, particularly in the context of climate change, and increases residual flood risk (the risk remaining after implementing risk reduction measures). This article aims to contribute to the management of residual risk by drawing on empirical findings from a survey carried out with flood risk practitioners from the public and private sector in Aotearoa New Zealand. Findings indicate fundamental concerns relating to how to best manage residual flood risk, despite its long profile and integration in current policy and practice. Other issues revolve around the use of outdated information to guide decisions and the lack of regulatory power to restrict developments in flood-prone areas protected by hard defense structures. Identified barriers to improving current practice include the lack of national guidance and support, financial resources, public awareness, and some technical constraints such as uncertainties in flood modeling, staff expertise, and data availability.

year: 2023-01-01

title: Culture and collaborative conservation? Inter-cultural difference and the Maungatautari Project

authors: Harms, Matthew

subjects: Inter-cultural navigation

abstract: This thesis situates and examines the role of sociocultural difference and biculturalism in the Maungatautari Sanctuary Mountain project, a multi-stakeholder community-based biodiversity conservation project in the Waikato region of New Zealand’s North Island. In the project, Mana Whenua (local indigenous Māori groups) and Pākehā (New Zealanders of British and European descent) from the area endeavour to interact and partner in the non-profit Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust (MEIT) as its primary stakeholder groups. Utilizing sociocultural anthropology, three years of participant observation, participant interviews, fieldwork data and contextualizing history, the role of culture and issues of biculturalism and partnership are examined in relation to the respective sociocultural backgrounds and identity of project participants. Findings indicate that sociocultural difference in the form of varying beliefs, values, attitudes, practices and protocol, and identity/cultural politics have led to dissonance and strained stakeholder interrelations that negatively affected the project. In some instances, a post-colonial ‘neo-paternalism’ marginalised local Māori cultural input and needs in the project. At other times project participants successfully bridged inter-cultural differences. In these occurrences they created a collaborative, complementary, bicultural partnership which valued, sought to understand, and incorporated differing sociocultural aspects, advancing project goals. Further analysis identified an ongoing risk of future multi-stakeholder dissonance relative to culturally-derived disparate views on such issues as cultural harvesting, species reintroductions and care, ecotourism, development on the mountain, and biodiversity research. Normative solutions are identified which can aid Maungatautari stakeholders and other culturally-heterogeneous multi-stakeholder conservation groups work toward and produce inclusive, inter-cultural partnership.

text: Culture and collaborative conservation? Inter-cultural difference and the Maungatautari Project This thesis situates and examines the role of sociocultural difference and biculturalism in the Maungatautari Sanctuary Mountain project, a multi-stakeholder community-based biodiversity conservation project in the Waikato region of New Zealand’s North Island. In the project, Mana Whenua (local indigenous Māori groups) and Pākehā (New Zealanders of British and European descent) from the area endeavour to interact and partner in the non-profit Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust (MEIT) as its primary stakeholder groups. Utilizing sociocultural anthropology, three years of participant observation, participant interviews, fieldwork data and contextualizing history, the role of culture and issues of biculturalism and partnership are examined in relation to the respective sociocultural backgrounds and identity of project participants. Findings indicate that sociocultural difference in the form of varying beliefs, values, attitudes, practices and protocol, and identity/cultural politics have led to dissonance and strained stakeholder interrelations that negatively affected the project. In some instances, a post-colonial ‘neo-paternalism’ marginalised local Māori cultural input and needs in the project. At other times project participants successfully bridged inter-cultural differences. In these occurrences they created a collaborative, complementary, bicultural partnership which valued, sought to understand, and incorporated differing sociocultural aspects, advancing project goals. Further analysis identified an ongoing risk of future multi-stakeholder dissonance relative to culturally-derived disparate views on such issues as cultural harvesting, species reintroductions and care, ecotourism, development on the mountain, and biodiversity research. Normative solutions are identified which can aid Maungatautari stakeholders and other culturally-heterogeneous multi-stakeholder conservation groups work toward and produce inclusive, inter-cultural partnership.

year: 2018