Resultats de la cerca67 resultats
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Development of a Hybrid Method to Generate Gravito-Inertial Cues for Motion Platforms in Highly Immersive Environments
Jose V. Riera, Sergio Casas, Marcos Fernández, Francisco Alonso, Sergio Useche
(2021). ArticleSensors. Num.21(23):8079
Motion platforms have been widely used in Virtual Reality (VR) systems for decades to simulate motion in virtual environments, and they have several applications in emerging fields such as driving assistance systems, vehicle automation and road risk management. Currently, the development of new VR immersive systems faces unique challenges to respond to the user’s requirements, such as introducing high-resolution 360° panoramic images and videos. With this type of visual information, it is much more complicated to apply the traditional methods of generating motion cues, since it is generally not possible to calculate the necessary corresponding motion properties that are needed to feed the...
Motion platforms have been widely used in Virtual Reality (VR) systems for decades to simulate motion in virtual environments, and they have several applications in emerging fields such as driving assistance systems, vehicle automation and road risk management. Currently, the development of new VR immersive systems faces unique challenges to respond to the user’s requirements, such as introducing high-resolution 360° panoramic images and videos. With this type of visual information, it is much more complicated to apply the traditional methods of generating motion cues, since it is generally not possible to calculate the necessary corresponding motion properties that are needed to feed the motion cueing algorithms. For this reason, this paper aims to present a new method for generating non-real-time gravito-inertial cues with motion platforms using a system fed both with computer-generated—simulation-based—images and video imagery. It is a hybrid method where part of the gravito-inertial cues—those with acceleration information—are generated using a classical approach through the application of physical modeling in a VR scene utilizing washout filters, and part of the gravito-inertial cues—the ones coming from recorded images and video, without acceleration information—were generated ad hoc in a semi-manual way. The resulting motion cues generated were further modified according to the contributions of different experts based on a successive approximation—Wideband Delphi-inspired—method. The subjective evaluation of the proposed method showed that the motion signals refined with this method were significantly better than the original non-refined ones in terms of user perception. The final system, developed as part of an international road safety education campaign, could be useful for developing further VR-based applications for key fields such as driving assistance, vehicle automation and road crash prevention.
Llegir més Ocultar DOI: 10.3390/s21238079ISSN: 1424-8220 -
Education for Road Safety: What is the State of Affairs in Three Groups of Vulnerable Road Users in Spain?
Francisco Alonso, Cristina Esteban, Mireia Faus, Sergio Useche
(2021). ArticleTEM Journal. Num.10(4):1509-1519
RSE (Road Safety Education) is well recognized as a reliable predictor of future safety and health outcomes. However, most countries have been slow to develop it, which has contributed to the sensitivity of the situation, as traffic accidents continue to be a major concern for community health. This paper aims to describe and compare key variables related to the RSE among three critical segments of the population, using the data provided by: 477 high school students, 843 university students and 476 older adults. Differential coverage rates were found. Perceived quality, aroused interest and attributed utility for RSE interventions were also compared among groups, finding substantial...
RSE (Road Safety Education) is well recognized as a reliable predictor of future safety and health outcomes. However, most countries have been slow to develop it, which has contributed to the sensitivity of the situation, as traffic accidents continue to be a major concern for community health. This paper aims to describe and compare key variables related to the RSE among three critical segments of the population, using the data provided by: 477 high school students, 843 university students and 476 older adults. Differential coverage rates were found. Perceived quality, aroused interest and attributed utility for RSE interventions were also compared among groups, finding substantial differences among them in terms of these three aspects of the intervention. Although coverage of RSE-related programs has grown considerably during the last years, substantial difficulties are still evident.
Llegir més Ocultar DOI: 10.18421/TEM104-03ISSN: 2217-8333 -
Citizens’ Perceptions in Relation to Transport Systems and Infrastructures: A Nationwide Study in the Dominican Republic
Francisco Alonso, Mireia Faus, Boris Cendales, Sergio Useche
(2021). ArticleInfrastructures. Num.6(11):153
One of the challenges currently faced by emerging countries is to get their citizens to decide to use sustainable transport for their regular trips, in order to reduce the current vehicular pollution rates. The objective of this descriptive research is to examine the perceptions of Dominicans regarding the state of the country’s transport systems and road infrastructure. For this purpose, a nationwide survey procedure was performed. This cross-sectional research used the data retrieved from a sample of 1260 citizens aged over 18, proportional in gender, age, habitat, and province of the Dominican Republic. The results showed how Dominicans believe that, compared to other road features,...
One of the challenges currently faced by emerging countries is to get their citizens to decide to use sustainable transport for their regular trips, in order to reduce the current vehicular pollution rates. The objective of this descriptive research is to examine the perceptions of Dominicans regarding the state of the country’s transport systems and road infrastructure. For this purpose, a nationwide survey procedure was performed. This cross-sectional research used the data retrieved from a sample of 1260 citizens aged over 18, proportional in gender, age, habitat, and province of the Dominican Republic. The results showed how Dominicans believe that, compared to other road features, pedestrian roads and public transport vehicles remain in a very poor condition. Further, citizens report to be more interested about the improvement of road infrastructures than in the implementation of any other set of measures performed to promote sustainable road mobility, including those related with alternative transport means. Finally, this study claims for the need of fostering educational, communicative and participative actions and measures aimed at increasing the value given to sustainable transportation, and the relevance of integrate potential structural and vehicular improvements with those related to human behavior in mobility.
Llegir més Ocultar DOI: 10.3390/infrastructures6110153ISSN: 2412-3811 -
Are Traffic Announcements Really Effective? A Systematic Review of Evaluations of Crash-Prevention Communication Campaigns
Mireia Faus, Francisco Alonso, Cesáreo Fernández, Sergio Useche
(2021). ArticleSafety. Num.7(4):66
Communication campaigns are commonly used in the traffic and road safety sector to raise public awareness of the importance of avoiding risky road user attitudes and behaviors. Surprisingly few of these communication campaigns evaluate their effectiveness in a formal and comprehensive manner. The core aim of the present systematic review is to identify the type of studies that evaluate the effectiveness of campaigns in this sector, in order to identify and contrast their main findings. This systematic review followed the PRISMA methodology, by means of which the relevant articles based on the search term were identified. A total of 613 indexed articles were filtered, and a final set of 27...
Communication campaigns are commonly used in the traffic and road safety sector to raise public awareness of the importance of avoiding risky road user attitudes and behaviors. Surprisingly few of these communication campaigns evaluate their effectiveness in a formal and comprehensive manner. The core aim of the present systematic review is to identify the type of studies that evaluate the effectiveness of campaigns in this sector, in order to identify and contrast their main findings. This systematic review followed the PRISMA methodology, by means of which the relevant articles based on the search term were identified. A total of 613 indexed articles were filtered, and a final set of 27 articles directly addressing the issue was analyzed. Search strategies were developed and conducted in WOS, Scopus, NCBI, Google Scholar and APA databases. The selected articles point out that, although advertisements alone have a certain positive effect, their effectiveness is substantially increased if they are accompanied by other preventive measures such as legislation or road safety education. In any case, more evaluations of traffic campaigns are needed to identify which techniques are effective and which are not, and which should therefore be replaced by new methods of behavior modification in future communication campaigns
Llegir més Ocultar DOI: 10.3390/safety7040066ISSN: 2313-576X -
“Where Have I Heard It?” Assessing the Recall of Traffic Safety Campaigns in the Dominican Republic
Francisco Alonso, Mireia Faus, Cesáreo Fernández, Sergio Useche
(2021). ArticleEnergies. Num.14(18):5792
Although traffic crashes are the eighth leading cause of death in the world, and are linked to vehicle and infrastructure-related factors, crash-related fatality rates are much higher in low-income countries. Particularly, the Dominican Republic is the country with the highest accident rate in the whole American continent. Therefore, in the past few years, public agencies have been developing different measures aimed at reducing traffic fatalities, including road safety campaigns. The aim of the present study was to assess the recalling of such campaigns among the Dominican population, which may serve as an additional indicator to evaluate their effectiveness in this and other countries of...
Although traffic crashes are the eighth leading cause of death in the world, and are linked to vehicle and infrastructure-related factors, crash-related fatality rates are much higher in low-income countries. Particularly, the Dominican Republic is the country with the highest accident rate in the whole American continent. Therefore, in the past few years, public agencies have been developing different measures aimed at reducing traffic fatalities, including road safety campaigns. The aim of the present study was to assess the recalling of such campaigns among the Dominican population, which may serve as an additional indicator to evaluate their effectiveness in this and other countries of the region presenting similar traffic safety issues. For this cross-sectional study, a nationwide sample composed of 1260 people (50% males and 50% females) with a mean age of 39.3 years was used. The data were collected through personal interviews. Overall, the recall of traffic safety campaigns was found to be very low (9%); male drivers who were employed, possessed a driver’s license and habitually drove were the ones who could commonly remember these campaigns. The results of this study suggest that further evaluation and follow-up could help to maximize the impact of future traffic campaigns and advertisements in the Dominican Republic, as well as in other emerging countries of the region with similar characteristics. Further, key segments of the population such as the female, young, less formally educated and non-driving populations should be also targeted for further actions in this regard.
Llegir més Ocultar DOI: 10.3390/en14185792ISSN: 1996-1073 -
Measuring job stress in transportation workers: psychometric properties, convergent validity and reliability of the ERI and JCQ among professional drivers
Sergio Useche, Francisco Alonso, Boris Cendales, Luis Montoro, Javier Llamazares
(2021). ArticleBMC Public Health. Num.21:1594
Background The accumulated evidence has shown how professional drivers are, in psychosocial terms, among the most vulnerable workforces, and how their crashes (some of them preceded by stressful working conditions) constitute both an occupational and public health concern. However, there is a clear lack of validated tools for measuring stress and other key hazardous issues affecting transport workers, and most of the existing ones, frequently generic, do not fully consider the specific features that properly describe the work environment of professional driving. This study assessed the psychometric properties, convergent validity and consistency of two measures used for researching...
Background The accumulated evidence has shown how professional drivers are, in psychosocial terms, among the most vulnerable workforces, and how their crashes (some of them preceded by stressful working conditions) constitute both an occupational and public health concern. However, there is a clear lack of validated tools for measuring stress and other key hazardous issues affecting transport workers, and most of the existing ones, frequently generic, do not fully consider the specific features that properly describe the work environment of professional driving. This study assessed the psychometric properties, convergent validity and consistency of two measures used for researching occupational stress among professional drivers: the Siegrist’s ERI (Effort-Reward Imbalance Inventory) and Karasek’s JCQ (Job Content Questionnaire). Methods We examined the data collected from 726 Spanish professional drivers. Analyses were performed using Structural Equation Models, thus obtaining basic psychometric properties of both measures and an optimized structure for the instruments, in addition to testing their convergent validity. Results The results suggest that the abbreviated versions of ERI (10 items) and JCQ (20 items) have clear dimensional structures, high factorial weights, internal consistency and an improved fit to the task’s dynamics and hazards, commonly faced by of professional drivers; a short set of items with low psychometrical adjustment was excluded, and the root structure of the questionnaires was kept. Conclusions This study supports the value and reliability of ERI-10 and JCQ-20 for measuring job stress among professional drivers. Also, there is a high consistency between both measures of stress, even though they belong to different theoretical conceptions of the phenomenon. In practical settings, these instruments can be useful for occupational researchers and practitioners studying stress-related issues from the perspective of human factors.
Llegir més Ocultar DOI: 10.1186/s12889-021-11575-1ISSN: 1471-2458 -
More than just “stressful”? Testing the mediating role of fatigue on the relationship between job stress and occupational crashes of long-haul truck drivers
Sergio Useche, Francisco Alonso, Boris Cendales, Javier Llamazares
(2021). ArticlePsychology Research and Behavior Management. Num.14:1211-1221
Introduction: Recent evidence consistently highlights the adverse work environment of long-haul professional drivers, whose task structure typically involves the performance of extensive shifts, driving under stressful working conditions. In this regard, job stress and fatigue – that are highly prevalent in this workforce – seem to play a crucial role in explaining this group’s negative traffic safety outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess whether work-related fatigue is a mechanism that mediates the relationship between job stress, health indicators and occupational traffic crashes of long-haul truck drivers (LHTD). Methods: The data used in this study were collected from 521...
Introduction: Recent evidence consistently highlights the adverse work environment of long-haul professional drivers, whose task structure typically involves the performance of extensive shifts, driving under stressful working conditions. In this regard, job stress and fatigue – that are highly prevalent in this workforce – seem to play a crucial role in explaining this group’s negative traffic safety outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess whether work-related fatigue is a mechanism that mediates the relationship between job stress, health indicators and occupational traffic crashes of long-haul truck drivers (LHTD). Methods: The data used in this study were collected from 521 Spanish long-haul truck drivers (97% males) from all 17 regions of Spain, with a mean age of 47 years. Results: Utilizing structural equation models (SEM), it was found that work-traffic crashes of long-haul truck drivers could be explained through work-related fatigue that exerts a full mediation between job stress (job strain), health-related factors and traffic crashes suffered during the previous two years. Discussion: Overall, the findings of this research support that a) stressful working conditions and health issues of drivers have significant effects on traffic crashes, and b) fatigue is a mechanism relating stress-related factors and work-traffic crashes of long-haul drivers. This study highlights the need of stress- and fatigue-management policies and interventions, in order to reduce the crash risk of long-haul truck drivers.
Llegir més Ocultar DOI: 10.2147/PRBM.S305687ISSN: 1179-1578 -
Assessing risky and protective behaviors among pedestrians in the Dominican Republic: New evidence about pedestrian safety in the Caribbean
Francisco Alonso, Oscar Oviedo, Javier Gene, Sergio Useche
(2021). ArticleJournal of Transport & Health. Num.22:101145
Introduction Research on pedestrians’ behavior and safety in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) is scarce, compared to high-income economies. This study aimed to present the validation of the Walking Behavior Questionnaire (WBQ), which has not been tested before in the Dominican Republic, and to evaluate age differences in walking-related self-reported behaviors. Methods For this study, a nationwide sample of 1026 pedestrians answered a questionnaire on risky and safe walking behaviors. Psychometric properties of the WBQ, variable correlations and age-based differences in walking were tested. Results Overall, the WBQ presented an adequate structure, goodness-of-fit indexes, and...
Introduction Research on pedestrians’ behavior and safety in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) is scarce, compared to high-income economies. This study aimed to present the validation of the Walking Behavior Questionnaire (WBQ), which has not been tested before in the Dominican Republic, and to evaluate age differences in walking-related self-reported behaviors. Methods For this study, a nationwide sample of 1026 pedestrians answered a questionnaire on risky and safe walking behaviors. Psychometric properties of the WBQ, variable correlations and age-based differences in walking were tested. Results Overall, the WBQ presented an adequate structure, goodness-of-fit indexes, and high reliability. Significant correlations between walking-related variables and demographic factors, as well as key differences in walking behaviors among young people, adults, and aging adults were found. Conclusions These results provide a strong background for assessing walking behaviors through the WBQ (for the first time in an LMIC), as -apart from presenting fair psychometric properties-it highlights the existence of walking pattern-related and demographic differences in the risky behaviors performed by pedestrians.
Llegir més Ocultar DOI: 10.1016/j.jth.2021.101145ISSN: 2214-1405 -
Compliance, practices, and attitudes towards VTIs (Vehicle Technical Inspections) in Spain: What prevents Spanish drivers from checking up their cars?
Francisco Alonso, Sergio Useche, Javier Gene, Cristina Esteban
(2021). ArticlePLos ONE. Num.16(7): e0254823
Objective Mechanical conditions of vehicles may play a determinant role in driving safety, the reason why vehicle periodical technical inspections (VTIs) are mandatory in many countries. However, the high number of drivers sanctioned for not complying with this regulation is surprisingly high, and there is not much evidence on what kind(s) of motives may explain this concerning panorama. This study aimed to identify the aspects that modulate the relationship between complying (or not) with VTI’s standards in a nationwide sample of Spanish drivers. The study design also addressed the drivers’ awareness regarding different risky behaviors while driving, depending on their sex and their crash...
Objective Mechanical conditions of vehicles may play a determinant role in driving safety, the reason why vehicle periodical technical inspections (VTIs) are mandatory in many countries. However, the high number of drivers sanctioned for not complying with this regulation is surprisingly high, and there is not much evidence on what kind(s) of motives may explain this concerning panorama. This study aimed to identify the aspects that modulate the relationship between complying (or not) with VTI’s standards in a nationwide sample of Spanish drivers. The study design also addressed the drivers’ awareness regarding different risky behaviors while driving, depending on their sex and their crash record. Methods 1,100 Spanish drivers completed a survey on the aforementioned issues. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Bonferroni post-hoc adjustment was conducted to assess significant differences (p<0.05) in the study variables. Results Most of the surveyed drivers (99.18%) reported that they always comply with VTI’s requirements. The main reasons to comply were related to compliance with traffic regulation and fear of penalties, while the reasons attributed to its incompliance are, instead, stated as involuntary. Conclusion The findings of this study support the idea that more actions are needed to increase drivers’ awareness of the relevance of VTIs for road safety, as well as warning them about the dangers of neglecting vehicle checking beyond merely punishing measures. For this reason and given the greater prevalence of the issue among younger segments of the driving population, it is suggested that more emphasis on the matter could be made during novice driver’s training.
Llegir més Ocultar DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254823ISSN: 1932-6203 -
Is there a predisposition towards the use of new technologies within the traffic field of emerging countries? The case of the Dominican Republic
Francisco Alonso, Mireia Faus, Cristina Esteban, Sergio Useche
(2021). ArticleElectronics. Num.10(10):1208
Technological devices are becoming more and more integrated in the management and control of traffic in big cities. The population perceives the benefits provided by these systems, and, therefore, citizens usually have a favorable opinion of them. However, emerging countries, which have fewer available infrastructures, could present a certain lack of trust. The objective of this work is to detect the level of knowledge and predisposition towards the use of new technologies in the transportation field of the Dominican Republic. For this study, the National Survey on Mobility was administered to a sample of Dominican citizens, proportional to the ONE census and to sex, age and province. The...
Technological devices are becoming more and more integrated in the management and control of traffic in big cities. The population perceives the benefits provided by these systems, and, therefore, citizens usually have a favorable opinion of them. However, emerging countries, which have fewer available infrastructures, could present a certain lack of trust. The objective of this work is to detect the level of knowledge and predisposition towards the use of new technologies in the transportation field of the Dominican Republic. For this study, the National Survey on Mobility was administered to a sample of Dominican citizens, proportional to the ONE census and to sex, age and province. The knowledge of ITS topics, as well as the use of mobile applications for mobility, are scarce; however, there was a significant increase that can be observed in only one year. Moreover, technology is, in general, positively assessed for what concerns the improvement of the traffic field, even though there is a lack of predisposition to provide one’s personal data, which is necessary for these devices. The process of technological development in the country must be backed up by laws that protect the citizens’ privacy. Thus, technologies that can improve road safety, mobility and sustainability can be implemented in the country.
Llegir més Ocultar DOI: 10.3390/electronics10101208ISSN: 2079-9292
