643 research outputs found
Special issue on ubiquitous computing and NextGen context-fusion
No full textYasar, AU (reprint author), Hasselt Univ, Transportat Res Inst, Hasselt, Belgium.
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Impact of Transport Network Changes on Tourism in Protected Areas: A Case Study of Ayubia National Park, Pakistan
No full textThe inflow caused by tourists in peak seasons exerts an uncontrollable pressure on the existing infrastructure. The Ayubia National Park in Pakistan
faces traffic delays and capacity restraints on the connecting roads in peak
season. The study focuses on the formulation of critical strategies by deploying amendments in the transport network. The methodology contains three
parts: 1) a questionnaire was designed to inquire about several variables from
the visitors; 2) the second part was traffic count data collection and analysis.
Based on the response collected, the impact of multiple strategies on the network was analyzed using TransCad; 3) in the third part, the results obtained
were shared with experts to gain their valuable opinions. It was observed that
the time of the day based access restriction to heavy vehicles could lead to
dropping the Volume to capacity ratio from 1.7 to 1.2. However, The experts
were also of the view that network changes can enhance and improve the visitors’ experience.Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the National Transport research center (NTRC), Pakistan for providing the traffic counts for the connecting areas to Ayubia National Park. We also thank the experts of different departments, e.g., NHA, NTRC, PTDC, GDA, and Planning Commission, for their valuable opinion towards the various elements of research. The authors also like to thank the support received from researchers affiliated with the National University of Sciences & Technology, National Defense University Islamabd and Hasselt University,
especially Muhammad Qadeer, Bilal Latif and Bruno Kochan respectively.
Funding
The research work is part of doctoral research. The doctoral research is funded by the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Islamabad, Pakistan
Artificial Neural Network Model to relate Organization Characteristics and Construction Project Delivery Methods
No full textThis study aims to relate organizational characteristics on preferences for project delivery methods (PDMs) in construction industry of Pakistan. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) based model is developed for predicting proportion of projects done by different types of organizations under various PDMs. It is found that ANN model give satisfactory accuracy in predicting these proportions for test and training datasets. It is found that client organizations are more inclined towards traditional methods, especially Design-Bid-Build (DBB). Consultant organizations had relatively higher proportion of projects done by Design-Build (DB) and other non-traditional methods. Most of the construction organizations belong to the private sector which showed an inclination towards DBB and DB methods. The non-traditional PDMs had relatively higher preference for organizations who are involved in infrastructure or other specialized projects. Organizations who have more projects showed more tendency towards non-traditional PDMs. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/) Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th International Conference on Future Networks and Communications, FNC-2018 and the 15th International Conference on Mobile Systems and Pervasive Computing, MobiSPC 2018.The authors acknowledges the efforts of Muhammad Ali Mangi, Zeeshan Yamin and Talha Ayub, students of NED University of Engineering and Technology, for collecting the data for this study
Effect of sidewalk vendors on pedestrian movement characteristics: A microscopic simulation study of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
No full textStreet vending is an essential part of the urban informal economy in developing countries. Related to rapid urbanization and socio-economic challenges, studies have proposed comprehensive street design and management that accommodate sidewalk vendors efficiently. To this end, this paper evaluated the effect of three alternatives to integrate sidewalk vendors on average pedestrian density. A social-force based pedestrian micro-simulation model (PTV-Viswalk-11) was calibrated using a macroscopic approach. A calibrated model was then used to evaluate the effect of a kiosk, a sidewalk vendor in frontage, and a sidewalk vendor in furniture zones on pedestrian movement under different scenarios. Results indicated that the average pedestrian density varied with the location and width of the vending stall, width of the walkway, pedestrian flow and the presence of a customer interacting with a vendor. The paper concludes with recommendations for planners and local authorities.Hagos, KG (corresponding author), Hasselt Univ, Dept Transportat Sci, B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium ; Hasselt Univ, Transportat Res Inst IMOB, B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Modelling Value of Time for Trip Chains in Daily Schedules
No full textAbstractThe decision about spending time on an activity, switching to the next activity and transport mode used to travel to the next activity location depends on money value of time; opportunity cost of time at activity. Optimal condition of transition between two activities occurs when their marginal utility of time is equal. The presented framework in this paper models the marginal utility of activity to express the money benefit earned by spending each unit of time at the given activity. The proposed model is generalized for the schedule with any number of activities as contrast to previous studies, where such models were used for schedules with fixed number of activities. This framework can be used to calculate the loss in value of time due decreased activity participation resulting from travel delays
Facilitating hikers’ mobility in protected areas through smartphone app: a case of the Hoge Kempen National Park, Belgium
No full textVisitor mobility in protected areas is often a challenge as manual map reading and finding a route consume the time. This paper presents a digital tool that provides valuable information for both the visitors and the managers of protected areas. The app provides assistance to users to generate, access, and record hiking routes within the protected area. A route planner was created to generate user-specific alternative routes taking into account the user's preferences in terms of distance, preferred landscape, level of accessibility, etc. The app also provides the users with basic information on the park, including captivating points, typical flora, and fauna. Moreover, visitors and park management can communicate with each other through exchanging messages and suggestions. The pilot validation test performed with 20 participants and real-time test from 68 park visitors revealed that all the functionality of the app is in order and the app enhances the mobility experience of the user within Hoge Kempen National Park. Furthermore, regular use of the app from users will generate rich data that is valuable for visitor management purposes, for example, the number of trips per day, the average duration of visits and popular segments.Shaker, M (reprint author), niv Hasselt, Transportat Res Inst IMOB, Agoralaan, B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium.
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Potensi Pengembangan Sistem Irigasi Pompa Tenaga Surya untuk Sawah Tadah Hujan di Pulau Simeulue
No full textAbstrak. Teknologi sistem irigasi pompa tenaga surya memiliki prospek yang sangat baik untuk masa depan bidang pertanian khususnya sektor pangan. Teknologi ini sangat murah untuk jangka panjang dan juga sederhana sehingga mudah dibuat dan dimodifikasi oleh siapa saja. Irigasi pompa tenaga surya tidak memerlukan operator untuk mengoperasikannya, hanya diperlukan sekali-kali pengecekan dan pengontrolan. Manfaat utama yang akan didapatkan dari pengembangan teknologi irigasi pompa tenaga surya ini adalah menjaga kelestarian lingkungan hidup karena tidak menghasilkan polusi udara sehingga dapat menekan peningkatan global warming. Teknologi ini termasuk dalam jenis teknologi green energy. Berepara indikator yang perlu diperhatikan dalam pengembangan sistem irigasi tenaga surya, diantaranya: (i) kemiringan yang sesuai untuk sistem irigasi tenaga surya; (ii) radiasi matahari yang sesuai untuk irigasi tenaga surya; (iii) potensi air tanah. Lokasi penelitian ini terletak di Desa Situbok Kecamatan Tepah tengah Kabupaten Simeulue. Hasil pengamatan dan pengukuran menunjukkan bahwa tingkat penyinaran matahari di Desa Situbok rata-rata sebesar 43,75 %.. Disamping itu terdapat pula potensi air tanah dangkal di daerah Situbok dengan kedalaman antara 5 – 10 meter. Data ini menunjukkan bahwa daerah ini layak untuk pengembangan sistem irigasi tenaga surya
A coordinated Framework for Optimized Charging of EV Fleet in Smart Grid
No full textAbstractElectric vehicles can be sustainable alternative in contrast to conventional fossil fuel powered vehicles only if the green energy is used to power them. Without coordination among electric vehicles and grid operator, it can imbalance the power production and demand. This paper presents an automated coordinated mechanism among EV fleet and the grid operator that plans a charging strategy for electric vehicles while sustaining the grid capacity constraints. The intelligent planner plans the charging strategy at the cheaper moments and keep the vehicle charged enough to complete its scheduled trips It suggests a charging pattern for the electric vehicle by using the time dependent electric prices and available power at the given time slots. It also ensures the cheapest charging cost and fulfills the constraints of battery state of the charge. A central power tracker is also introduced which keeps track of the available and required power at each time slot. According to the current market share of the electric vehicles, a fraction of the daily agendas, created by an operational activity-based model, is used to test the framework. Moreover, an experiment has been set up, it makes use of wind and solar renewable energy to power the vehicles
Determinants of Pro-Environmental Activity-Travel Behavior Using GPS-Based Application and SEM Approach
No full textDeterminants of Pro-Environmental Activity-Travel Behavior Using GPS-Based Application and SEM Approac
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