SynopsisA sample of 77 women of high and low noise sensitivity, living in areas of high and low exposure to aircraft noise drawn from the 1977 West London Survey, were interviewed in the community in 1980. Women of high, intermediate and low noise sensitivity in 1980 were compared for measures of psychiatric disorder, personality and reactivity to the other sensory stimuli. In addition, the noise sensitivity measures defining the three groups in 1980 were compared with further measures of noise sensitivity. High noise sensitive women exhibited significantly more psychiatric symptoms, higher neuroticism scores, and greater reactivity to other sensory stimuli than intermediate and low noise sensitive women.

In line with the increasing policy recognition of the role of transport in social exclusion, Transport Studies at the University of East London was commissioned by the Mobility Unit of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions to produce a Public Transport Gender Audit. The completed project is available on the Gender Audit website at http://www.uel.ac.uk/womenandtransport. It includes an inventory of relevant literature providing both policy-makers and the public at large with access to the existing body of evidence on the relationships between gender and transport. This paper identifies the goals and progress of the Gender Audit for Public Transport to date. It considers why we need a Public Transport Gender Audit and examines the major gender differences that have relevance for transport policy-makers, planners and providers.

This study examined an alternative approach for organizing reading and language arts instruction to accommodate individual differences in reading ability. The approach featured Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC), conducted without ability groups, with cross-age and peer tutoring, supplementary phonics instruction for some students, and classroom-based instruction from compensatory and special education teachers. Students in regular, remedial, and special education were included in an experimental and a control school. We found significant effects on reading vocabulary, total reading, and language scores in favor of the experimental school; but on several other measures, including behavior ratings, we did not detect treatment effects.

This study, conducted in the context of a 4-year project to redesign special and remedial services in an elementary school, examined the effects of cooperative learning, cross-age tutoring, and in-class services for students with handicaps and remedial students. All students (524) in Grades 1 through 6 in two medium-sized elementary schools took part in the study. All three treatments were introduced into one of the schools, with the second school serving as a control. The cooperative learning treatment was delivered to all sixth-grade students, cross-age tutoring to special and remedial students in Grades 1 through 3, and the in-class services to all grade levels. Results indicated that, although the character of the instructional services changed markedly, none of the three treatments had much impact on achievement. Reasons for the findings are explored.