This thesis tests one of the major propositions of deterrence theory: that increases in the severity of punishment can reduce the likelihood of offending. To this end, a case study in which the statutory penalties were doubled for almost all drink-driving offences in New South Wales, Australia, is examined. Two quasi-experimental studies were undertaken to assess the impact of these legislative changes: an interrupted time-series analysis of road crash rates (Study 1) and an analysis of drink-driving reoffending rates before and after the penalty changes were implemented (Study 2). Study 1 showed a significant increase in a surrogate measure of alcohol-related road crashes after the tougher drink-driving penalties were introduced. Further analyses suggested that this increase was driven primarily by a secular rise in non alcohol-related crashes that coincided with the policy???s implementation. Two possible conclusions about the deterrent effect of the policy are drawn from these findings: (1) that there was a reduction in alcohol-related road crashes which was overwhelmed by the rise in non alcohol-related crashes occurring around the same time or (2) that there was no change in crash rates. Study 2 found that drink-drivers who were convicted under the new penalty regime were less likely, and took longer, to reoffend than drink-drivers convicted before the introduction of the new penalties. This reduction in reoffending was only apparent for drink-drivers residing in country and regional areas and was small in magnitude.These latter findings are consistent with the possibility that the penalty changes coincided with a reduction in alcohol-related crashes but suggest that any decrease is likely to have been relatively small. A third study using a scenario-based survey methodology was also undertaken to examine the relationship between legal sanctions and willingness to drink-drive, controlling for other factors. The results of this study showed that participants who were more knowledgeable about drink-driving penalties were less likely to state that they would offend in the drink-driving scenario than participants who were less knowledgeable about the law. The implications of these findings for deterrence theory and criminal justice policy are discussed.

The problem surrounding the ever-increasing toll of death and injury arising from road accidents is one which is receiving increasing attention as the number of vehicles on the road continues to rise. While it has not been possible to isolate any one factor as the sole or even primary cause of road accidents, several surveys have shown that in many accidents alcohol has been a contributory factor by affecting the faculties of the driver of pedestrian. The thesis then goes on to discuss factors causing individual differences in response to the same blood alcohol concentration and the correlation between impairment of driving and blood alcohol concentration.

Background: Agricultural workers in New Zealand have high rates of occupational injury compared to most other occupational groups. They are also over-represented in work-related fatal injury statistics. While it is recognised that the personal and social costs of occupational injuries to agricultural workers are considerable, the ability to develop and evaluate evidence-based injury control strategies for this group has been limited by the lack of quality information on occupational exposures and injury events. Aim: The aim of this thesis was to develop and pilot a comprehensive occupational exposure and acute injury outcome data collection system for agricultural workers which will provide an evidence base for a public health approach to acute occupational injury control within the agricultural sector of New Zealand. The thesis objectives were therefore to: * Develop study methods to collect occupational exposure and injury outcome information. * Assess the likely validity of these study methods. * Determine the feasibility of implementing the study methods. * Suggest modifications to the study methods to enhance their validity and feasibility. Methods: Pastoral farms in the Waitaki region of New Zealand were identified using a database of New Zealand farm owners. The owners and workers on these farms were contacted and asked to participate. Participants were required to complete an Initial Questionnaire which included items on farm and personal characteristics, the farm environment, training, safety perceptions and attitudes and safety behaviour. Participants were then monitored for six months. During the monitoring period each participant completed a monthly log of their work activities during the preceding week. Any work-related injuries to workers on participating farms were also recorded and reported monthly. Participants who were injured were followed up for an interview to obtain detailed injury event information. At the end of the monitoring period a second Questionnaire was administered to assess change during the study. Participants were asked about any occupational injury events during the study as part of one of the monthly logs and the second Questionnaire to provide a comparison measure to the monthly reports. A random third of participating farms were visited at the end of the study to assess the validity of participants� reports on the farm environment. Results: Sixty-two farms were recruited into the study, a recruitment rate of 24%. This resulted in 82 study participants. Fifty-seven farms and 72 participants completed the study, resulting in retention rates of 92% and 88% respectively. Return of study items was high, with the lowest observed level of return being 92%. Levels of response error were low in most of the study items, with exceptions being the recording of the hours spent handling animals (37%) and total hours worked (22%). Most postal items (over 68%) were returned before a reminder call was made. Participants� reports about the farm environment closely matched the observations made during the visits, with little evidence of significant misreporting. The validity of reported injury events during the study could not be determined, as the two methods of capturing injury events identified different events. Conclusions: Within the limitations of the study, most of the study methods appeared to be feasible and have acceptable validity. The low recruitment rate and issues with validating the capture of injury events indicated that modifications to the study design were necessary to achieve acceptable validity and feasibility, however. Recommendations were made on how feasibility and validity might be improved.

The problem surrounding the ever-increasing toll of death and injury arising from road accidents is one which is receiving increasing attention as the number of vehicles on the road continues to rise. While it has not been possible to isolate any one factor as the sole or even primary cause of road accidents, several surveys have shown that in many accidents alcohol has been a contributory factor by affecting the faculties of the driver of pedestrian. The thesis then goes on to discuss factors causing individual differences in response to the same blood alcohol concentration and the correlation between impairment of driving and blood alcohol concentration.

La plate-forme expérimentale PLINIUS du CEA Cadarache est dédiée à l'étude expérimentale des accidents graves de réacteurs nucléaires en réalisant des essais entre 2000 et 3500 K avec du corium prototypique. Le corium est le mélange issu d'une hypothétique fusion du cœur et de son mélange avec les matériaux de structure. Le corium prototypique a la même composition chimique que le corium envisagé pour un scénario d'accident grave mais une composition isotopique différente(utilisation d'uranium appauvri,...). Des programmes de recherches et des campagnes d'essais ont eu pour thème les propriétés physiques du corium, le comportement des produits de fission, l'étalement du corium, sa solidification et son interaction avec le béton, ainsi que sa refroidissabilité. Ils ont servi de cadre a la formation par la recherche de nombreux étudiants. Ces travaux ont été réalisés dans le cadre de collaborations nationales, européennes et internationales.

Construction remains the most hazardous industry in the United States in terms of the aggregate number of fatalities. Twenty percent of all occupational related fatalities occur in construction; approximately three construction workers die per calendar day. Moreover, this trend has been prevalent for too long. One method to reduce this trend is to involve architects and design engineers in considering construction safety during the design process. The concept of designing for construction safety is a viable intervention to improve worker safety. However, in the United States many barriers (legal, contractual, regulatory) exist that prevent this intervention from becoming part of a standard practice within the construction industry. Four-hundred and fifty construction accidents from two databases were analyzed and a link to the design for construction safety concept was determined. An objective investigation model was developed to make these determinations. A significant link between the concept of designing for construction safety and construction fatalities and disabling injuries was established. Specific construction project parameters linked to the concept of designing for construction safety include the minimization of risk due to falls through and from roofs, skylights and structural steel construction; and the minimization of risk due of contact with electric and other utilities. It is recommended that the concept of designing for construction safety be considered by regulatory agencies, insurance companies, and the United States' construction industry as one intervention of a comprehensive safety agenda to reduce the disproportionate number of fatalities and disabling injuries. / Graduation date: 2005

Although research evidence clearly indicates support surface properties are a major factor contributing to fall risk among the elderly, investigations examining the influence of variations in surface conditions on the postural control of older adults during task performance have been limited. Thus, the primary purpose of the present studies was to determine whether the coordination and control of body kinematics exhibited by older adults during upright leaning (i.e., leaning forward through the region of stability) and gait would be different across variations in support surface properties. Secondary objectives of these studies included, examining if coordination and control measures of body kinematics differed as a function of the participants' level of postural stability and/or repeated exposure to the support surface properties. Three support surface conditions were selected for inclusion based on resistance properties to applied forces (i.e., normal and shear): rigid, high friction; compliant; and rigid, low friction. For both tasks performed, body kinematics for trials 1-3 (T1) and 10-12 (T2) from 12 completed trials on each support surface were analyzed using three-dimensional (3-D) video analyses. Results of separate univariate repeated measures analyses of variance yielded significant surface condition main effects for lower extremity coordination patterns and postural control strategies in the gait and leaning task, respectively. Additionally, a significant surface condition main effect and an interaction effect of surface condition by trial block were identified for the measure of head stability in the gait and leaning tasks, respectively. Differences in head stability and the control of lower extremity joint motions as a function of level of postural stability (i.e., group differences) were observed only during the walking task. Present findings indicate that during goal-directed behavior, the coordinated movements of the body and its segments emerge from constraints imposed by the interaction of the support surface, the task and the individual. The observed adaptations in the coordination and control of posture in response to support surface constraints evidenced in the present studies provide support for the theory of perception and the control of bodily orientation (Riccio & Stoffregen, 1988). / Graduation date: 1998

A series of small break loss of coolant accident (SBLOCA) analyses in nuclear plant shutdown operations was simulated using the code RELAP5A,MOD3 version 8.0 to predict the SBLOCA phenomena in the Zion-l nuclear power plant The first objective is to study the impact of SBLOCA (1" and 2" breaks) on plant conditions while in the shutdown mode. In particular, to determine the time to "core uncovery" without operator interaction. The other objective is to study the effect of RHR heat exchanger elevation on natural circulation mass flow rate, fluid temperature and peak fuel pin temperature. Peak temperature and time to core uncovery were found for two small break LOCA cases. The natural circulation mass flow rate after break initiation was affected by varying the RHR heat exchanger elevation. The system pressure and temperature were not affected much by the elevation change in the RHR heat exchanger. The current version of RELAP5/MOD3 was found to be sensitive to the initial conditions in studies of low pressure,low temperature plant systems, especially for a large break LOCA. / Graduation date: 1994

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2007. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 86-88). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Cincinnati, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p.100-116). Also available online via the OhioLINK website (http://www.ohiolink.edu/).