41 research outputs found
Using GIS and Spatial Modeling to Examine Active Travel Potential in a University Town
No full textAssistant Professor, Earth and Resource Science, The University of Michigan - FlintPlatinum Sponsors
KU School of Business
Gold Sponsors
Bartlett & West
KU Department of Geography
KU Environmental Studies Program
KU Institute for Policy & Social Research
KU Libraries
Silver Sponsors
Kansas Biological Survey
KU Center for Global & International Studies
Bronze Sponsors
Global Information Systems
State of Kansas Data Access and Support Center (DASC)
KU Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS
Moving towards happiness? Understanding travel moods through twitter data in Turin
No full textThe paper will address the following questions: does urban mobility matter for health, and mental health in particular? How does each transport mode relate to our level of stress/happiness? A previous study conducted on Turin (Melis et al. 2015) showed that among indicators related to urban structure and social composition, ‘accessibility by public transport’ seems to be the one with strongest relation with mental health (depression) outcomes. Starting from this results, we decided to further explore this association through the use of data from social media. Recent trends in the use of social networks have opened up new opportunities in the field of urban and transport studies: the great amount of data coming from Twitter is an example, providing easily available, often geo-referenced, marginally costly, datasets offering new insights on individual and collective life. The accuracy and reliability, as well as representativeness of the results coming from the use of this new source of data in the mobility and planning field is undoubtedly growing. The project uses Twitter data collected for the metropolitan area of Turin (IT) and analyses it using a Semantic Analysis algorithm to show spatiotemporal levels of happiness (valence) of users, related to the transport mode they have been using. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis techniques are then used to visualize spatial patterns and associations among happiness levels and contextual variables, such as land-use. From a methodological point of view, results can be compared to research conducted on US cities by Flint University (Rybarczyk and Banerjee 2015), as the method used is the same. The purpose of the study is exploratory, in order to understand which use can be done of such a rich data source as social media information. Therefore, the results may be used to promote the use of social media data by transportation planners and public health officials for developing more effective transportation plans and policies, as well as to understand the degree of satisfaction/stress linked to different transport modes
Investigation of Headstarted Blanding’s Turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) in Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, Saginaw, MI
No full textWhen implementing management decisions managers should utilize the most cost-effective strategies that also provide the most benefit for the managed species. There are many different management options to consider when the objective is conservation of long lived reptiles (e.g., turtles) with one of them being headstarting. Headstarting is when reptile eggs are collected by managers, hatched in captivity, and hatchlings are raised for a certain time before being released into their native habitat. Blanding’s Turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) are a state species of special concern in Michigan, where this study takes place. Headstarted Blanding’s Turtles were raised for one and a half years and should benefit from being released in a suitable microhabitat within a wetland. This study’s aim was to investigate the success of varying release locations and the headstart program by measuring thermoregulation patterns, survival, and movements of juvenile headstarted Blanding’s Turtles. During June 2014, twenty-four Blanding’s Turtles were released and tracked for eighteen months using radio telemetry to measure survival and to look at the movements among microhabitats; water and carapace temperature data were used to measure thermoregulation patterns. The headstarted juvenile Blanding’s Turtles had an average carapace temperature lower than adults from previous studies and used basking as a thermoregulatory behavior.
To evaluate factors that may potentially affect survival of Blanding’s Turtles microhabitat factors at turtle relocation points within Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, Saginaw, MI, USA were recorded, including water depth, vegetation type and dominance, substrate depth, and air and water temperature. GIS and ground truth data were used to investigate microhabitat factors and map turtle locations. All of the headstarted Blanding’s Turtles survived overwintering through spring 2015. Turtles were released in four different locations with different microhabitats. Minimum convex polygon home ranges and movement patterns were analyzed to see if differences occurred across release groups and age classes. Significant differences were found between turtle home range size per release group. Comparisons to studies on wild-hatched Blanding’s Turtles were made and showed that these headstarted Blanding’s Turtles behaved similar to their wild-hatched counterparts when comparing behaviors at relocations and home range sizes. Use versus availability showed that the juvenile headstarted Blanding’s Turtles avoided open water, willows, and lowland forest while preferring muskrat dens and cattails. Geographically weighted regression modeling predicted that these turtles would move towards preferred habitats and away from release sites with avoided non-preferred habitats. This research identified an estimated survival of between 63 and 96% over the eighteen month study period with all Blanding’s Turtles surviving their first winter in the refuge. This research suggests that headstarting programs for Blanding’s Turtles should release the species in preferred habitats of dense cattails with plenty of muskrat dens for basking and refuge, if available.Master of Science (MS)BiologyUniversity of Michigan-Flinthttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136883/1/Szymanski2016.pdfDescription of Szymanski2016.pdf : Thesi
Simulating bicycle wayfinding mechanisms in an urban environment
No full textWith the increased recognition that bicycling is a sustainable transportation mode choice, there is a continued interest in understanding how the built environment affects bicyclist travel behavior. Research on the influence of small-scale built form elements, such as street characteristics, on bicyclist wayfinding is limited. wayfinding is defined as a purposeful way of reaching from point A to point B; it is comprised of decision-making and subsequent movement. This research uses an agent-based model to investigate how small-scale urban design affects bicyclist wayfinding. Using geographic information systems and statistical analysis, different types of simulated bicycle agents were compared to observed bicycle volumes. Statistically significant positive relationships between bicycle agent types and observational data existed. The largest correspondence between agents and field observations occurred along central routes that were accessible from other streets (R2 = .377) and that had fewer decision-making junctions (R2 = .352). Bicyclists selected streets that were wider and with fewer obstructions to one’s forward view. The results support the need to design streetscapes that offer a high level of visibility and reduced stops to promote bicycling. The study also describes a modeling approach that can be replicated by urban planners to understand bicyclist travel patterns
Toward a spatial understanding of active transportation potential among a university population
No full textAuthor Correction: The effect of national protest in Ecuador on PM pollution (Scientific Reports, (2021), 11, 1, (17591), 10.1038/s41598-021-96868-6)
No full textIn the original version of this Article Rasa Zalakeviciute, Katiuska Alexandrino, Danilo Mejia, Marco G. Bastidas, Nora H. Oleas, Diana Gabela, Phuong Ngoc Chau, Santiago Bonilla-Bedoya & Yves Rybarczyk were incorrectly affiliated with ‘Secretariat of the Environment, Quito, Ecuador’. In addition, Valeria Diaz was incorrectly affiliated with ‘Research Center for the Territory and Sustainable Habitat, Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Machala y Sabanilla, 170301, Quito, Ecuador’. The correct affiliations are listed below: 1. Grupo de Biodiversidad Medio Ambiente y Salud (BIOMAS), Universidad de Las Américas, calle José Queri y Av. de los Granados / Bloque 7, 170125, Quito, EC, Ecuador Rasa Zalakeviciute, Katiuska Alexandrino, Marco G. Bastidas & Diana Gabela 2. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas de La Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador Danilo Mejia 3. Centro de Estudios Ambientales (CEA) de la Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador Danilo Mejia 4. Centro de Investigación de la Biodiversidad y Cambio Climático (BioCamb) e Ingeniería en Biodiversidad y Recursos Genéticos, Facultad de Ciencias de Medio Ambiente, Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Machala y Sabanilla, 170301, Quito, EC, Ecuador Nora H. Oleas 5. Faculty of Data and Information Sciences, Dalarna University, 791 88, Falun, Sweden Phuong Ngoc Chau & Yves Rybarczyk 6. Research Center for the Territory and Sustainable Habitat, Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Machala y Sabanilla, 170301, Quito, Ecuador Santiago Bonilla-Bedoya 7. Secretariat of the Environment, Quito, Ecuador Valeria Diaz The original Article has been corrected
Concept and modelling of the electrohydraulic valve with DC and stepper motors
No full textThe article describes concept and modelling of a new type of electrohydraulic valve controlled by the combination of a stepper motor and a DC motor. The aim of this invention is to use in the proportional valve two motors with the different properties. Both motors are responsible for the movement of a valve spool. The stepper motor and the DC motor are connected to a shaft by using a bellows coupling. Transfer from rotary to linear motion is performed by use of a bolt-nut system. According to the invention, presented here valve can be used in hydraulic drive systems with high positioning accuracy requirement. The author was granted a patent no. P.421994 on the invention described in this paper
Predicting Bicycle-on-Board Transit Choice in a University Environment
No full textBicycles-on-board (BoB) transit is a popular travel demand management (TDM) tool across many U.S. cities and universities, yet research on this mode within a university environment remains minimal. The purpose of this research is to investigate how personal and neighborhood factors influence this travel choice in a university setting. Relying on attitudinal data from a stated preference survey, this study examined the effect of personal characteristics and seven key neighborhood conditions on the willingness to utilize BoB for the “first mile” of the journey to campus. The study used exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA), a discrete choice modeling framework, and geovisualizations to understand the likelihood of choosing this mode among a university population in Flint, Michigan, USA. The results revealed that the majority of constituents were not interested in BoB, aside from a cluster near the commercial business district. Also of note was that long commutes, and reduced access to parks and bicycle facilities dissuaded people from choosing this mode. Surprisingly, a neighborhood’s walkability or bikeability had no effect on respondent’s interest in using BoB. Lastly, the geovisualizations showcased where localized interventions may effectively increase this mode choice in the future
Predicting Bicycle-on-Board Transit Choice in a University Environment
No full textBicycles-on-board (BoB) transit is a popular travel demand management (TDM) tool across many U.S. cities and universities, yet research on this mode within a university environment remains minimal. The purpose of this research is to investigate how personal and neighborhood factors influence this travel choice in a university setting. Relying on attitudinal data from a stated preference survey, this study examined the effect of personal characteristics and seven key neighborhood conditions on the willingness to utilize BoB for the “first mile” of the journey to campus. The study used exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA), a discrete choice modeling framework, and geovisualizations to understand the likelihood of choosing this mode among a university population in Flint, Michigan, USA. The results revealed that the majority of constituents were not interested in BoB, aside from a cluster near the commercial business district. Also of note was that long commutes, and reduced access to parks and bicycle facilities dissuaded people from choosing this mode. Surprisingly, a neighborhood’s walkability or bikeability had no effect on respondent’s interest in using BoB. Lastly, the geovisualizations showcased where localized interventions may effectively increase this mode choice in the future.</p
