U.S. school bus drivers witness bullying on their buses on a regular basis but are often not consulted on how to prevent bullying or how to maintain a safe environment. Over 24 million U.S. student passengers ride school buses daily, yet the voices of bus drivers have been inadequately represented in the development of school bullying policies. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the lived experience of 12 active school bus drivers and their perceptions of bullying on the bus, driver training programs, school antibullying policies, and other mandated procedures developed for bus drivers. The conceptual framework combined Bandura's social learning theory and Bronfenbrenner's social ecological systems model. Data were sorted into 14 themes from semistructured interviews that were coded and analyzed using Moustakas's methodology of bracketing personal opinion, horizonalization, and privileging rich textural description in participants' language. Findings indicated that these bus drivers do feel supported by school administrators, but they lack continuous training, rely on experience over training, are subject to intimidation and threats by students and parents, and seek greater communication with student support groups. Positive social change implications include recommendations to school district administrators to develop driver antibullying training which takes into account all components of passenger safety. Findings support development of administrative policy mandating a direct, ongoing channel of communication between drivers and school administrators to assure antibullying policy implementation fidelity.

A persistent truck driver shortage and high driver turnover at common carriers limit the effectiveness of some U.S. supply chains. Most driver vacancies result from job hopping, especially among younger drivers. A multiple case study was conducted to explore strategies that some leaders of U.S. common carriers have used to retain millennial-age long-haul truck drivers. Data sources consisted of semistructured, in-person and phone/videoconference interviews; participant observations; and company documents. The sample population was 9 leaders from 6 different common carriers with operations in the southwestern region of the United States who successfully retained millennial long-haul drivers. The conceptual framework was person-organization fit theory. Data were compiled and organized, disassembled into fragments, reassembled into a sequence of groups, and interpreted for meaning. Methodological triangulation and member checking were used to validate the trustworthiness of those interpretations. Five major themes emerged from data analysis: strategic recruiting, competitive compensation, limiting driver time away from home, facilitating driver comfort while away from home, and demonstrating a company culture of driver appreciation. Potentially, carrier leaders can use the lessons learned from this research to reduce driver turnover rates and operating costs and to improve freight reliability for U.S. supply chains. The implications for positive social change include the potential to lower freight costs to shippers and consumers, improve job satisfaction for long-haul drivers, and improve highway safety for truck drivers and motorists.

The number of accidents over the past decade involving emergency vehicles is a major concern for emergency service providers. This study assessed the effectiveness of adding a driving simulator to a traditional training program. Potential relationships with students' learning styles using Gregorc Mind Style Delineator were also examined. The general research design consisted of a quantitative portion (quasi-experimental) and a qualitative portion (phenomenological). The sample population consisted of Emergency Medical Technician students attending the National EMS Academy in Lafayette, LA. The didactic session was conducted first with 102 participants in attendance. The driving portion was conducted over five days. The group self-scheduled which day they would attend the driving portion of the class. This resulted in 52 participants in the control group and 50 participants in the treatment group. The treatment group used a driving simulator prior to driving on the competency course. The results indicated that the treatment group took significantly less time to drive through the competency course on the first run (t=3.74, p=0.0003), acquired significantly fewer penalty points on the first run (t=2.41, p=0.0178), and required significantly fewer runs to complete the course (t=3.53, p=0.0006). Participants with Abstract Random learning styles performed significantly better on a written, knowledge test than those with Abstract Random/Concrete Random learning styles and Abstract Sequential learning styles. When examining the participants' performance on the competency course in relationship to their learning styles, those with a sequential learning style took less total time to drive the competency course on the first run than those with random learning styles. A t-test was significant, t=2.13, p=0.0357. A simulator improves the individual's ability to drive an ambulance on the required competency course. The use of a driving simulator has potential savings for the emergency service industry and increases the safety of training drivers. In addition, the qualitative portion of the study found all participants had a favorable attitude toward using a simulator to learn to drive an emergency vehicle as part of the training program.

In Australia and other developed countries, young drivers are more likely to be involved in crashes than older, more experienced drivers. However, not all young drivers are crash involved. There is increasing evidence within road safety literature suggesting the existence of a subgroup of young drivers with an elevated risk of crashing. The aim of this thesis was to examine characteristics of young drivers (aged 16 to 24 years) that identify those with an elevated risk of crash involvement and to validate high-risk driver subtypes among different young driver populations. Young driver interventions might be more effective if tailored to the needs and motivations of these specific subgroups of young drivers identified as being at a higher risk of crash involvement. The first of four studies examined the ability of previous driving behaviour, reflected in driver records, to identify high-risk drivers, that is, drivers deemed culpable for a fatal crash. The official driver records, both crashes and traffic offences, of drivers involved in a multiple vehicle fatal crash were tracked for five years prior to the fatal crash (N=388). This analysis was repeated for a subset of young drivers aged 16 to 24 years (n=82). Although driver records (i.e., prior drink driving offences) had some value in identifying high-risk drivers, they were not useful in identifying the subset of high-risk young drivers. The second study involved an examination of personality characteristics, motivations, driving related attitudes, and behaviours to ascertain whether they could differentiate young traffic offenders (N=336), drivers detected engaging in risky driving, from other young drivers (i.e., university students N=270). Based on a wide variety of questionnaire measures, the profile of characteristics for the offenders indicated that they were well adjusted and generally did not differ greatly from the students. However, there were notable differences on some measures related to aggression. In addition, offenders generally had less safety-oriented attitudes towards road safety issues than students. Considering that young drivers are not a homogenous group, the third and fourth studies examined whether personality characteristics and attitudes could identify different subtypes of young drivers, specifically subtypes with an elevated crash risk. The existence of subtypes was examined and validated among the two young driver populations: university students (N=270) and young traffic offenders (N=336). Based on questionnaire measures, cluster analysis identified four meaningful young driver subtypes in each of the young driver populations. High-risk young driver subtypes were more clearly differentiated among young drivers already identified by their driving record as high-risk (i.e., traffic offenders). Of significance, the high-risk young driver subtypes had a similar profile (i.e., "emotional, hostile" and "thrill-seeking") to those found in previous research. Interventions that matched the needs of these high-risk subtypes were discussed. A 12-month follow up of driver records showed that high-risk subtypes continued to be detected for more traffic offences than other subtypes, and there was a trend of greater crash involvement. It is recommended that further research follow these driver records for a number of years to allow comprehensive validation of these subtypes. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1280851 / Thesis (PhD)-- School of Psychology, 2007

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is characterised by repetitive reductions or pauses in breathing during sleep due to upper airway narrowing or closure. Due to disruption to normal sleep patterns, many patients with OSA suffer from increased daytime sleepiness. Epidemiological studies have established a link between OSA and driver fatigue and accidents, generally showing a two to seven times increased risk of road traffic accidents in non-commercial drivers with OSA. There is emerging evidence that commercial drivers have a higher prevalence of OSA than the general population, being predominately male, middle-aged and overweight, three important risk factors for OSA. However, little is known about the relationship between OSA and driver sleepiness in commercial drivers, whether road accidents are increased in commercial drivers with OSA, and whether OSA interacts with other fatigue promoting factors, such as sleep deprivation, to further escalate road accident risk. One thousand randomly selected commercial drivers were surveyed in the field. In addition, 61 randomly selected NSW commercial drivers had in hospital sleep studies and daytime performance testing, including a PC based driving simulator task. The prevalence of OSA, defined as Respiratory Disturbance Index (RDI) < 10, was approximately 50% in NSW commercial drivers. Approximately one quarter of the drivers reported pathological daytime sleepiness, and 12-14% had both OSA and pathological daytime sleepiness. A diagnosis of OSA was the most important factor predicting excessive daytime sleepiness in these drivers: OSA was more important than 15 other work-related, lifestyle and medical factors that could be expected to promote, or be associated with, daytime sleepiness. Drivers with sleep apnoea syndrome (both OSA and pathological daytime sleepiness) had an increased driving accident risk, using driving simulator and daytime performance testing as proxy measures for accident risk. These results demonstrate the importance of OSA as a cause of driver fatigue in commercial drivers and suggest that all commercial drivers should be screened for the presence of sleep apnoea syndrome in order to potentially reduce road accident risk through treatment. A separate, but related body of work examined the combined effects of mild OSA and other fatigue promoting factors (sleep deprivation and circadian influences) on driving performance. Twenty nine subjects, consisting of a group with mild OSA and a group of non-OSA controls, were tested on several occasions throughout the night and day using an intensive performance battery, under both baseline conditions and after a period of 36 hours of total sleep deprivation. The results suggest that drivers with mild OSA are not different to the control group in their response to sleep deprivation or time of day influences. However, the subjects with mild OSA were less aware of their impairment due to sleep deprivation, which is of concern if drivers with OSA are relying on their subjective awareness of fatigue to make decisions about when to stop driving. A final perspective on OSA and driver fatigue is provided through a clinical case series of seven fall-asleep fatality associated MVA�s associated with unrecognised or under-treated sleep disorders. As well as demonstrating the day to day potential for devastating road accidents due, at least in part, to un-recognised or untreated sleep disorders, these cases also serve to highlight some of the current medico-legal controversies and difficulties in this area of driver fatigue. In conclusion, this body of work has provided novel information about the epidemiology and implications of OSA in commercial drivers, and about how OSA interacts with other fatigue promoting factors. Finally, it has explored some of the medico-legal issues that relate to sleep disorders and driver fatigue. As well as providing much needed information in the area of driver fatigue, at the same time this work raises many more questions and suggests areas of future research. For instance, such research should examine the relationship between objective accident rates and OSA/sleep apnoea syndrome in commercial drivers, the interaction between mild sleep apnoea syndrome and other fatigue risk factors, and driver perception of sleepiness prior to sleep onset in drivers with sleep disorders.

<p>Here at ISY research is performed on network processors. In order to evaluate the processors there is a need to have full control of every aspect of the transmission. This is not the case if you use a proprietary technology. Therefore the need for a well documented gigabit Ethernet network interface has emerged. </p><p>The purpose of this thesis work has been to design and implement an open source gigabit Ethernet controller in a FPGA together with a device driver for the Linux operating system Implementation has been done in Verilog for the hardware part and the software was developed in C.</p><p>We have implemented a fully functional gigabit Ethernet interface onto a Xilinx Virtex II-1500 FPGA together with a Linux device driver. The design uses approximately 7200 LUTs and 48 block RAMs including the opencores PCI bridge.</p>

<p>The project has been done in cooperation with Schenker Åkeri AB in Sweden, Halmstad. The</p><p>project is based on an inspection made by Arbetsmiljöverket, where they found minor</p><p>shortcomings with distribution of goods for the employees. The project is an investigation of</p><p>the drivers’ working environment.</p><p>Schenker Logistics is one of the world's leading providers of integrated logistics services.</p><p>Schenker Åkeri AB is a subsidiary to Schenker Logistics and transports 2.4 million tons of</p><p>goods yearly.</p><p>The project started with a background study to evaluate drivers working environment. We</p><p>have studied goods receptions, the working environment, strain injury and injury mechanisms.</p><p>Methods used was observations, tests, questionnaire surveys and ergonomic and</p><p>biomechanical calculations.</p><p>One result of the study is a working model, which gives recommendations for the maximum</p><p>weight a driver should push and pull. A truck evaluation was done to exam the need for new</p><p>technical equipment. An ergonomic investigation was done to investigate the drivers’ working</p><p>tasks. A questionnaire was given to the drivers to evaluate their working environment and</p><p>tasks. The questionnaire involved questions about stress, handling of goods and technical</p><p>equipment.</p><p>Together with Schenker Åkeri AB in Halmstad, an action plan was made. This action plan</p><p>will be handed over to Arbetsmiljöverket by Schenker.</p>

A gate driver IC with programmable driving strength to reduce electromagnetic interference (EMI) in SMPS is presented in this thesis. The design builds on previous segmented gate driver designs that have been used to improve light load efficiency. The presented solution is to dynamically adjust the output resistance Rout at the arrival of each gate pulse to minimize EMI while maintaining low switching loss. Dynamically adjusting Rout is not possible with conventional gate driver designs. Thus, a segmented gate driver is designed and fabricated in the AMS 0.35μm 40V HVCMOS process. Unlike traditional snubber circuits, the proposed method does not require extra discrete components that dissipate energy. Experimental results indicate up to a 7dBμV improvement in peak Conducted EMI (CEMI) between 20 MHz and 30 MHz and a 150μV/m improvement in peak Radiated EMI (REMI) between 88 MHz and 216 MHz.

A gate driver IC with programmable driving strength to reduce electromagnetic interference (EMI) in SMPS is presented in this thesis. The design builds on previous segmented gate driver designs that have been used to improve light load efficiency. The presented solution is to dynamically adjust the output resistance Rout at the arrival of each gate pulse to minimize EMI while maintaining low switching loss. Dynamically adjusting Rout is not possible with conventional gate driver designs. Thus, a segmented gate driver is designed and fabricated in the AMS 0.35μm 40V HVCMOS process. Unlike traditional snubber circuits, the proposed method does not require extra discrete components that dissipate energy. Experimental results indicate up to a 7dBμV improvement in peak Conducted EMI (CEMI) between 20 MHz and 30 MHz and a 150μV/m improvement in peak Radiated EMI (REMI) between 88 MHz and 216 MHz.

In the thesis, LED driver circuits which are applied in low power lighting LED with constant output current and Power Factor Correction are presented. The non-isolated Buck converter are used for the LED drivers. According to different operating mode of inductance current, Power Factor Correction are realized with both the method of Voltage Follower Approach Control under Discontinuous Conduction Mode and the method of Nonlinear Carrier Control under Continuous Conduction Mode. NLC doesn¡¦t need the multiplier which is used in traditional power factor correction, therefore NLC can reduce the system cost. The designed circuits are verified by simulation of IsSpice software and practical experiments. From simulation and experimental results, it shows the proposed approaches achieve the goal with high power factor and constant output current.