Sjálfakandi ökutæki á Íslandi: Viðhorf almennings gagnvart nýjum ferðamáta

Automated vehicles (AVs) are sometimes considered a silver bullet for contemporary transport problems. For particular scenarios, the technology is believed to have many advantages, such as improving the accessibility of underserved populations. However, the technology may also lead to lesser consequences under other scenarios, with some simulations predicting increase in congestion as the modal split shifts towards automation. In any case, the mode choice shift will not be realised without the public acceptence of AVs. The public opinion towards the technology has not been fully explored, and particularly not in Iceland. This article focuses on the Icelandic results of a cross-national survey. 561 valid responses were recorded, considering attitudinal and stated-mode-choice questions and the responses then analysed as per the sample‘s socio-demographic attributes and compared to a similar survey performed in other european countries. The Icelandic public is generally more positive towards automated vehicles than other Europeans, however still skeptical. At the same time as AV passengers feel more safe than vulnerable road users in the vicinity of an AV, AV passengers also feel more safe with an AV supervisor inside the vehicle. It is uncertain whether people will use the vehicles for pick-up and drop-off of children. Respondents are generally more positive that their goods be transported in AVs instead of people. In spite of this, 70% of respondents were positive that the technology be tried in their neighborhood and 60% of respondents are positive towards trying the vehicles themselves. Further research is suggested in the outlook of the articles, based on indices and further metrics.

Choice Shifts in School Disciplinary Decision Making: Analysis of Age Differences of Panel Members

Background: Decision making is critical to each organization and it requires the ability to find a possible balance between risky and cautious decisions. The Kenyan secondary schools are mandated by the Ministry of Education to manage students’ misbehaviors by the disciplinary panels. Aim: The present study investigated the choice shifts in disciplinary decision making in Kenyan secondary schools based on age groups of the panel members. Methods: The Quasi-Experimental Pretest-Posttest Design was adopted. The study targeted 360 teachers- members of disciplinary panels in 45 secondary schools in the Rongo sub-county of Kenya. A sample size of 78 members of disciplinary panels in 10 secondary schools was involved. This was 22% of the target population of members of disciplinary panels in the Rongo district. The choice shift in decisions was ascertained using the Modified Choice Dilemma Questionnaire. The validity of the tools was ensured by the expert judgment by two Kenyan psychologists, while the reliability was determined using the internal consistency method and an alpha of 0.695 was reported. Results: The results of the Multivariate Analysis Of Variance indicated that there were differences in choice shifts from the pre to post-disciplinary hearing decisions among the members of selected school disciplinary panels on the basis of their age groups (Wilk’s Lambda (λ) test: F (12, 188) = 7.40, P = 0.000, P < 0.05). Conclusion: It was concluded that the age of the members of disciplinary panels influenced the nature of choice shifts in decisions. It was recommended that principals should ensure that the membership of school disciplinary panels is broad-based.