published_or_final_version / Sociology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

This dissertation aims at determining the possible effects of alcoholic hangover on human behaviour by examining the effects of acute alcohol consumption (> 1g/kg) 14-16 hours following alcohol ingestion on simple and choice reaction times, divided attention tasks and driving skills. The hypotheses are that cognitive and behavioural functioning is impaired even after the blood alcohol concentration level has returned to zero The California Computerised Assessment Package (CALCAP) together with selected driving skills tasks, repeated breath analysis measures, a biographical questionnaire, a subjective hangover rating scale, and blood glucose tests were administered to a group of 63 mixed gender student volunteers. The experimental group and was tested prior to, and during hangover. The control group was pre- and post-tested in order to determif.le the impact of practice effects. Results indicate that hangover individuals performed less well than control subjects on measures of reaction time and driving precision. Further more, the findings show that subjective experience of hangover is not a good predictor of reaction time or driving performance, and that the absence of hangover symptoms does not guarantee full mental recovery. Statistical analysis of the data showed that post-test findings could not be attributed to a gender effect. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

Roads are a significant element of modernity. They are not only sites that facilitate mobility and fluidity needed for modern capitalist economy but also spaces which signify the social relations formed within the system. This conceptualization of the road is central to the project at hand. The aim of this research is to unpack factors influencing route choices of private car owners in the Bisley area in Pietermaritzburg in terms of their primary activities (going to work, shopping etc.) and what socio-political contents inform and frame these rationales. Additionally, this research explores the extent to which crime influences spatial consumption and mobility patterns. The research made use of qualitative approach that sought to interrogate the contexts within which what is considered rational choices are made and provide insight into how private car owners in Bisley area contextualize their decision. In-depth interviews with individuals (owners of private car) from various households in Bisley were conducted. The findings reveal that drivers use routes that provide them with the maximum positive outcomes, and consider their options within multiple factors as they arise out of the conditions on each road and each trip. The study also found variations in terms of the mode of rationality used in situational contexts and their multiplicity. For example, morning traffic prompted the drivers to use instrumental rationality; whereas travel during other parts of the day was not restricted to this form of rationality. The findings of study also in some ways support already existing view that there is a link between spatial consumption and perceptions of crime; however, this requires further interrogation of this theme with systematic data collection appropriate to it. Most importantly consideration of safety on the road definitely shapes decisions of the research participants on which roads and routes to frequent, and at which time of the day. Furthermore, the study through the tracing of participants‟ movements using maps shows the ways in which class and race feature on the roads of the country. The study argues that class rather than race is re-spatialized in post-apartheid South Africa. This was attributed to recent socio-political and economic dynamic developments taking place in South Africa, where the black majority is becoming more affluent. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

La presente investigación busca explorar la salud mental de los conductores de taxis, a fin de conocer la presencia del síndrome de Burnout como también verificar si existen niveles indicadores del síndrome en cada una de sus dimensiones; asimismo, determinar cuál es la asociación de las mismas con variables demográficas como edad, nivel de educación, estado civil y tiempo prestando el servicio de taxi. La investigación se llevó a cabo en una muestra de 232 conductores de taxi de una empresa de Lima Metropolitana. Para explorar la presencia de Burnout se administró el Inventario de Burnout de Maslach (Maslach 1997 en Fernández 2002) y para obtener datos demográficos necesarios para la investigación se utilizó una encuesta donde se preguntó por edad, nivel de educación, estado civil y tiempo de servicio. / Tesis

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The rise of on-demand platform work typified by Uber has intensified a decades-long trend away from standard work relationships and toward contingent work structures, characterized by the unbounding of work in space and time. Yet many workers have always toiled outside of a traditional workplace and “standard” schedule. My dissertation examines how contingent workers in four different industries navigate unstable work schedules across unsettled work geographies, drawing on 120 interviews with agricultural and oil and gas workers in Texas and on-demand delivery workers and university adjuncts in New York City. Across these “old” and “new” cases of contingent work performed across rural and urban landscapes, work processes restructure space and time in such a way that workers do not know when, for how long, or where they will have work. I call this temporal and spatial instability positional uncertainty – repurposing an oilfield term for the inability to pinpoint precisely where one is at any given moment in the drilling process. The experience of positional uncertainty forces workers to subordinate the rhythms and geographies of their own lives to the temporal and spatial imperatives of their respective labor processes, leading to time struggle (unpaid periods of waiting or “zombie time” and overwork) and challenges in space (related to the bifurcation or unbounding, respectively, of the spaces of work and home). Workers respond, first, by doing boundary work, and second, by telling both critical and anchoring stories in attempts to bring coherence and meaning to the day-to-day and the long-term. The dissertation highlights the integral role of time and space in structuring social life, the active maneuvers by which workers struggle to re-configure time and space to produce coherence and make a life for themselves, and the short- and long-term costs of the transfer of risk onto workers through positional uncertainty. The strategic comparison reveals parallel strategies across disparate cases in response to the warping of time and space and illuminates how positional uncertainty exacerbates deep-set structural inequalities.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T13:30:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vanilda Aparecida dos Santos.pdf: 690093 bytes, checksum: bdfe44686225b1054199a7cfbba54bfd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-04-24 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / This master´s thesis is part of the Research Unit of Political Psychology and Social of Movements (NUPMOS) of the Graduate Studies Program in Social Psychology of the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo. The objective of the study was to understand which social and political factors influence the attitudes of drivers in relation to Law 11705 against drinking and driving. To conduct this study we began with a revision of the literature and then proceeded to conduct semi-structured interviews drivers accused of driving while under the influence of alcohol and drivers that do not drive under the influence of alcoholic beverages. Through the use of content analysis techniques. we present the results of the study along four aspects: the social contexts of the interviewees, lack of credibility of the interviewees in relation to the efficacy of the law and the actions of the government, alcohol and driving in the cultural ambiance, and implementation, impunity and corruption in the application of the law. We based our study on theoretical contributions from cognitive dissonance theory of Leon Festinger (1975), some considerations from authors in Social Psychology like Sandra Jovchlovitch (2000) and social attribution theory. The present study uses qualitative methods, content analysis of discourse and interpretation analysis / Esta dissertação de mestrado vincula-se ao Núcleo de Psicologia Política e movimentos sociais (NUPMOS) do Programa de Estudos Pós-graduados em Psicologia Social da Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP). O objetivo deste estudo foi compreender quais os fatores sociais e políticos que influenciam a atitude dos condutores em relação à Lei 11.705 (Lei Seca). Para a consecução desse objetivo, partimos de uma pesquisa bibliográfica e optamos por realizar entrevistas semiestruturadas com motoristas que foram flagrados dirigindo alcoolizados e com motoristas que não dirigem após ingerirem bebidas alcoólicas. Com base na utilização de técnicas de análise de conteúdo, apresentamos os resultados em torno de quatro eixos interpretativos: os contextos sociais dos entrevistados; descrédito em relação à eficácia da lei e das ações do governo; álcool, direção e cultura; fiscalização, impunidade e corrupção. Adotamos como aportes teóricos a teoria da Dissonância Cognitiva elaborada por Leon Festinger (1975), algumas considerações de autores da Psicologia Social, como Sandra Jovchelovitch (2000), e a teoria da atribuição social. Para realizar esta pesquisa forma utilizados o método qualitativo, a análise de conteúdo dos discursos e o sistema de interpretação como metodologia de análise

This thesis presents the results of an investigation into traffic operations and driver behaviour at traffic circles under South African conditions. The scarcity of local traffic circles necessitated the development of a simulation program (TRACSIM) to assist in the research process. This microscopic program for single lane circles is based on event updates and was calibrated and validated based on local data. Because the acceptance of gaps is such a vital part of the operation of a traffic circle, it was examined in detail. Specific attention was given to the possible use of a gap acceptance model based on variables other than time. Since the gap acceptance process also depends on the gap distribution in the circulating stream, the effect of the origin-destination pattern was also investigated. Two existing analysis techniques are evaluated and verified for local conditions, improving them where possible. Generally these techniques under-estimate traffic delay at local circles. Observations indicate a difference between the acceptance of gaps/lags in the entering and circulating stream of conflicting traffic as well as a difference between critical gaps and critical lags. The mean observed critical gaps/lags are larger than in other countries, which indicates that delays at local circles will be greater. Gap/lag acceptance based on critical distances rather than critical times was applied successfully in the simulation program TRACSIM. A method is proposed to estimate critical distances from the geometric layout of the circle. Critical gaps are not fixed, but should vary with at least the conflicting flows. The investigation of the effect of unbalanced flows on delay, showed that the variability in drivers' critical gaps is more a function of delay than of conflicting flow. Entry delays increase because of an increase in conflicting flows or because of an unfavourable imbalance of conflicting flows. In both instances the drivers' critical gaps will decrease. A variable critical gap model only based on conflicting flows will show no change in the drivers' critical gaps if the conflicting volumes remain constant, even though the actual average delay might increase because of an unfavourable imbalance in conflicting flows. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1997.

Thesis (MA (Theol.))-University of Pretoria, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Serious efforts must be made to combat the high accident rate on the roads in the Republic of South Africa. The same spirit which exists in the field of medicine when there are evidences that an epidemic is beginning to take its toll, must come into being amongst those who are concerned with traffic and its problems. The public itself needs to become more aware of road safety. Many associations and institutions have been created to assist with the inculcation of the road safety ideal. The National Road Safety Council, which creates opportunities for investigation into aspects of road safety must continue to expand its sphere of influence. The research project contained on the following pages represents an attempt to contribute to the human factor in traffic safety, particularly by making a closer study of the driver of the motor vehicle. The writer is concerned with the carnage that is caused by road accidents. His previous study of personality and particularly of the projective techniques of assessment has prompted a consideration of the problem.