Recent research has shown that the useful visual field deteriorates in simulated car driving when the latter can induce a decrease in the level of activation. The first aim of this study was to verify if the same phenomenon occurs when driving is performed in a simulated road traffic situation. The second aim was to discover if this field also deteriorates as a function of the driver's age and of the vehicle's speed. Nine young drivers (from 22 to 34 years) and nine older drivers (from 46 to 59 years) followed a vehicle in road traffic during two two-hour sessions. The car-following task involved driving at 90 km.h(-1) (speed limit on road in France) in one session and at 130 km.h(-1) (speed limit on motorway in France) in the other session. While following the vehicle, the driver had to detect the changes in colour of a luminous signal located in the central part of his/her visual field and a visual signal that appeared at different eccentricities on the rear lights of the vehicles in the traffic. The analysis of the data indicates that the useful visual field deteriorates with the prolongation of the monotonous simulated driving task, with the driver's age and with the vehicle's speed. The results are discussed in terms of general interference and tunnel vision.
a b s t r a c tIntroduction. -Research consistently showed that stress and organizational change are closely related.Objective. -This study was conducted to identify the psychosocial job characteristics that are responsible for psychological stress in a context of organizational change.Method. -An expanded 30-item version of the Job Content Questionnaire was used to measure psychological demands, decision latitude, supervisor support, coworker support, and organizational difficulties. Online survey responses from 973 employees from the university of Strasbourg were analyzed. Results. -Confirmatory Factor Analyses indicated a poor fit of the five-factor model based on 30 items but an acceptable to good fit of a reduced five-factor model based on 26 items. Results from a stepwise regression showed that the organizational difficulties dimension was the second most important predictor of psychological stress. Conclusion. -The implications of these findings for further work on health outcomes of organizational changes closed this study.
Inclination toward eveningness is often associated with risky behavior. But the existing studies are scarce, inconsistent and usually limited to self-reported measures. We sought to investigate in young adults whether morningness-eveningness is associated with risky behavior in dangerous driving situations, with self-reported drunk driving and with alcohol consumption. Results show that, indeed, inclination toward eveningness is associated with these risky behaviors. We also demonstrate a link between morningness-eveningness and sensation seeking. Therefore, young adults with a tendency toward eveningness might be more at risk to face negative consequences of alcohol abuse or to be involved in a road accident.
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