Whittington, Jan; Calo, Ryan; Simon, Mike; Jesse Woo; Meg Young; Schmiedeskamp, Peter. (2015). Push, Pull, and Spill: A Transdisciplinary Case Study in Municipal Open Government. Berkeley Technology Law Journal, 30(3), 1899 – 1966.
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Abstract
Municipal open data raises hopes and concerns. The activities of cities produce a wide array of data, data that is vastly enriched by ubiquitous computing. Municipal data is opened as it is pushed to, pulled by, and spilled to the public through online portals, requests for public records, and releases by cities and their vendors, contractors, and partners. By opening data, cities hope to raise public trust and prompt innovation. Municipal data, however, is often about the people who live, work, and travel in the city. By opening data, cities raise concern for privacy and social justice. This article presents the results of a broad empirical exploration of municipal data release in the City of Seattle. In this research, parties affected by municipal practices expressed their hopes and concerns for open data. City personnel from eight prominent departments described the reasoning, procedures, and controversies that have accompanied their release of data. All of the existing data from the online portal for the city were joined to assess the risk to privacy inherent in open data. Contracts with third parties involving sensitive or confidential data about residents of the city were examined for safeguards against the unauthorized release of data. Results suggest the need for more comprehensive measures to manage the risk latent in opening city data. Cities should maintain inventories of data assets, produce data management plans pertaining to the activities of departments, and develop governance structures to deal with issues as they arise--centrally and amongst the various departments--with ex ante and ex post protocols to govern the push, pull, and spill of data. In addition, cities should consider conditioned access to pushed data, conduct audits and training around public records requests, and develop standardized model contracts to protect against the spill of data by third parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; Copyright of Berkeley Technology Law Journal is the property of University of California School of Law and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Keywords
Public Records; Open Data Movement; Acquisition Of Data; Ubiquitous Computing; Data Analysis; Social Justice
Drewnowski, Adam; Aggarwal, Anju; Tang, Wesley; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Scully, Jason; Stewart, Orion; Moudon, Anne Vernez. (2016). Obesity, Diet Quality, Physical Activity, and the Built Environment: The Need for Behavioral Pathways. BMC Public Health, 16.
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Abstract
Background: The built environment ( BE) is said to influence local obesity rates. Few studies have explored causal pathways between home-neighborhood BE variables and health outcomes such as obesity. Such pathways are likely to involve both physical activity and diet. Methods: The Seattle Obesity Study ( SOS II) was a longitudinal cohort of 440 adult residents of King Co, WA. Home addresses were geocoded. Home-neighborhood BE measures were framed as counts and densities of food sources and physical activity locations. Tax parcel property values were obtained from County tax assessor. Healthy Eating Index ( HEI 2010) scores were constructed using data from food frequency questionnaires. Physical activity ( PA) was obtained by self-report. Weights and heights were measured at baseline and following 12 months' exposure. Multivariable regressions examined the associations among BE measures at baseline, health behaviors ( HEI-2010 and physical activity) at baseline, and health outcome both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Results: None of the conventional neighborhood BE metrics were associated either with diet quality, or with meeting PA guidelines. Only higher property values did predict better diets and more physical activity. Better diets and more physical activity were associated with lower obesity prevalence at baseline and 12 mo, but did not predict weight change. Conclusion: Any links between the BE and health outcomes critically depend on establishing appropriate behavioral pathways. In this study, home-centric BE measures, were not related to physical activity or to diet. Further studies will need to consider a broader range of BE attributes that may be related to diets and health.
Keywords
Body-mass Index; Local Food Environment; Residential Property-values; Supermarket Accessibility; Park Proximity; Neighborhood Walkability; Vegetable Consumption; Atherosclerosis Risk; Restaurant Food; Associations; Built Environment; Physical Activity; Obesity; Diet Quality
Kim, Taehoon; Kim, Yong-woo; Cho, Hunhee. (2016). Customer Earned Value: Performance Indicator from Flow and Value Generation View. Journal Of Management In Engineering, 32(1).
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Abstract
The earned value method (EVM) is considered an advanced project control technique that provides a quantitative measure of work performance. However, the EVM is effective only under the assumption that every activity is independent. Literature shows that the EVM lacks the value generation view even working against the reliability of workflow. The goal of this research is to propose a project metric system to supplement the EVM in terms of the workflow and value generation. The researchers suggest a new metric of customer earned value (CEV), which is defined as the budgeted amount of work completed and is used by the successors on a network. Through a hypothetical case study, this research investigates how the work-in-process between trades and schedule performance in each trade behave under different uncertainties. The result suggests that the proposed metrics can provide project managers with more relevant managerial information on project progress as well as on the level of collaboration. The proposed system with the EVM would facilitate collaboration on project planning and control where variability and interdependency are involved. (C) 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Keywords
Budgeting; Customer Services; Organisational Aspects; Planning; Project Management; Customer Earned Value; Project Planning; Project Managers; Trade-schedule Performance; Work-in-process; Budgeted Amount; Project Metric System; Advanced Project Control Technique; Earned Value Method; Performance Indicator; Value Generation View; Management; Project Control Metric; Collaboration
Shakouri, Mahmoud; Lee, Hyun Woo. (2016). Mean-Variance Portfolio Analysis Data For Optimizing Community-Based Photovoltaic Investment. Data In Brief, 6, 840 – 842.
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Abstract
The amount of electricity generated by Photovoltaic (PV) systems is affected by factors such as shading, building orientation and roof slope. To increase electricity generation and reduce volatility in generation of PV systems, a portfolio of PV systems can be made which takes advantages of the potential synergy among neighboring buildings. This paper contains data supporting the research article entitled: PACPIM: new decision-support model of optimized portfolio analysis for community-based photovoltaic investment [1]. We present a set of data relating to physical properties of 24 houses in Oregon, USA, along with simulated hourly electricity data for the installed PV systems. The developed Matlab code to construct optimized portfolios is also provided in Supplementary materials. The application of these files can be generalized to variety of communities interested in investing on PV systems. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Keywords
Community Solar; Photovoltaic System; Portfolio Theory; Energy Optimization; Electricity Volatility
Brody, Samuel D.; Highfield, Wesley E.; Wilson, Morgan; Lindell, Michael K.; Blessing, Russell. (2017). Understanding the Motivations of Coastal Residents to Voluntarily Purchase Federal Flood Insurance. Journal Of Risk Research, 20(6), 760 – 775.
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Abstract
Federally-backed flood insurance is the primary mechanism by which residents in the United States (US) prepare for and recover from floods. While there is a growing literature on the general uptake of flood insurance, little work has been done to address the factors motivating residents to voluntarily buy and maintain federally-based insurance policies. We address this issue by conducting a survey of coastal residents in four localities in Texas and Florida. Based on survey responses, we quantitatively examine the factors influencing whether residents located outside of the 100-year floodplain obtain insurance policies when it is not required. Using two-sample t-tests and binary logistic regression analysis to control for multiple contextual and psychological variables, we statistically isolate the factors contributing most to the decision to purchase insurance. Our findings indicate that a resident located outside the 100-year floodplain who has voluntarily purchased federal flood insurance can be characterized, on average, as more highly educated, living in relatively expensive homes, and a long-time resident who thinks about flood hazard relatively infrequently but who, nonetheless, thinks flood insurance is relatively affordable. Unexpectedly, the physical proximity of a respondent to flood hazard areas makes little or no discernible difference in the decision to obtain flood insurance.
Keywords
Action Decision-model; Hazard Adjustments; Risk; Perceptions; Adoption; Florida; Losses; Determinants; Preferences; Responses; Insurance; Floodplain; Purchase Decision; Texas
Lee, Wonil; Lin, Ken-yu; Seto, Edmund; Migliaccio, Giovanni C. (2017). Wearable Sensors For Monitoring On-duty And Off-duty Worker Physiological Status And Activities In Construction. Automation In Construction, 83, 341 – 353.
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Abstract
Total Worker Health (R) (TWH) integrates occupational health and safety with the promotion of workers' off-duty wellbeing. Wearable sensors (e.g., activity trackers and physiological monitors) have facilitated personalized objective measurement of workers' health and wellbeing. Furthermore, the TWH concept is relevant to construction workers, especially roofing workers, as they encounter high on-duty health and safety risks and have poor off-duty lifestyles. This study examined the reliability and usability of wearable sensors for monitoring roofing workers' on-duty and off-duty activities. The results demonstrated the usability of these sensors and recommended a data collection period of three consecutive days for obtaining an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.75 for heart rate, energy expenditure, metabolic equivalents, and sleep efficiency. The participants exhibited significant variations in their physical responses, health statuses, and safety behaviors. Moreover, several issues were identified in the application of wearable sensors to TWH evaluations for construction workers including roofers.
Keywords
Construction Workers; Wearable Technology; Employee Health Promotion; Roofing Industry; Body Sensor Networks; Health; Construction Safety And Health; Usability Study; Wearable Sensors; Worker Monitoring; Worker Physiology; Construction Industry; Ergonomics; Occupational Health; Occupational Safety; Patient Monitoring; Personnel; Roofs; Sleep; Off-duty Worker Physiological Status; Total Worker Health®; Off-duty Wellbeing; Activity Trackers; Physiological Monitors; Twh Concept; On-duty Health; Safety Risks; Off-duty Lifestyles; Monitoring Roofing Workers; Off-duty Activities; Health Statuses; Heart-rate-variability; Energy-expenditure; Health Protection; Physical-activity; Validity; Reliability; Validation; Promotion; Productivity; Actigraph
Spencer, Benjamin; Lawler, Josh; Lowe, Celia; Thompson, Luanne; Hinckley, Tom; Kim, Soo-hyung; Bolton, Susan; Meschke, Scott; Olden, Julian D.; Voss, Joachim. (2017). Case Studies in Co-Benefits Approaches to Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. Journal Of Environmental Planning & Management, 60(4), 647 – 667.
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Abstract
Attempts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions or manage the effects of climate change traditionally focus on management or policy options that promote single outcomes (e.g., either benefiting ecosystems or human health and well-being). In contrast, co-benefits approaches to climate change mitigation and adaptation address climate change impacts on human and ecological health in tandem and on a variety of spatial and temporal scales. The article engages the concept of co-benefits through four case studies. The case studies emphasize co-benefits approaches that are accessible and tractable in countries with human populations that are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. They illustrate the potential of co-benefits approaches and provide a platform for further discussion of several interdependent principles relevant to the implementation of co-benefits strategies. These principles include providing incentives across multiple scales and time frames, promoting long-term integrated impact assessment, and fostering multidimensional communication networks.
Keywords
Greenhouse Gas Mitigation; Air Pollution Control; Climate Change; Environmental Health; Ecological Impact; Management; Ecological Health; Human Health; Impact Assessment; Incentives; Multidimensional Networks; Health; Impacts; Drought; Perspective; Strategies; Mangroves; Science; Risks; Ecosystems; Platform; Implementation; Networks; Social Welfare; Environmental Policy; Case Studies; Greenhouse Effect; Impact Tests; Communication Networks; Environmental Changes; Greenhouse Gases; Human Populations; Spatial Discrimination; Adaptation; Climate Effects; Mitigation; Environmental Impact; Health Care Policy
Ibrahim, Amir; El-Anwar, Omar; Marzouk, Mohamed. (2018). Socioeconomic Impact Assessment of Highly Dense-Urban Construction Projects. Automation In Construction, 92, 230 – 241.
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Abstract
Dense-urban construction is reported to affect the social and economic welfare of surrounding residents and local businesses in various ways. However, research studies and practical methodologies aimed at assessing to what extent the choice of a construction plan that reduces such effect are very limited. The objective of this paper is to present the development of an automated assessment methodology to fill this research gap. To this end, two formulations are presented; one based on multi-attributed utility functions and the other based on monetary compensations for disruptions caused by construction operations. Both formulations assess the impacts of construction plans on (1) increased travel distance; (2) residents' relocation; (3) business loss; (4) business closure; and (5) noise inconvenience. The proposed automated methodology is implemented in five sequential phases and utilizes Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Visual Basic Application (VBA). Using the proposed implementation, the two alternative formulations are applied to an infrastructure upgrading project in Cairo, Egypt that had five possible construction scenarios. While the two formulations resulted in the same preference order for the five scenarios, they exhibited different performance in terms of their (1) assessment relative values; (2) required input data and robustness; (3) ease of results interpretation; and (4) comprehensiveness and scalability. The developed framework shows promising results in terms of identifying and sorting the major root causes of the socioeconomic disruptions caused by dense urban construction. Results show that using the proposed methodology informs decision-making and planning at the early stages of a project, which in turn helps to reduce cost overruns and schedule delays.
Keywords
Construction Projects; Socioeconomics; Social Services; Construction Project Management; Building Design & Construction; Geographic Information Systems; Infrastructure (economics); Dense-urban Construction; Gis; Socioeconomic Assessment; Decision Making; Economics; Plant Shutdowns; Tourism Industry; Automated Assessment; Construction Operations; Construction Plan; Socio-economic Assessments; Socio-economic Impact Assessment; Urban Construction; Utility Functions; Visual Basic Application; Pavement Construction; Road; Sustainability; Behavior; Industry; Highway; Models; Choice
Nnaji, Chukwuma; Gambatese, John; Lee, Hyun Woo. (2018). Work Zone Intrusion: Technology to Reduce Injuries & Fatalities. Professional Safety, 63(4), 36 – 41.
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Abstract
WZIAT was first introduced to work zones in 1995 following a Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP)-sponsored study (Agent & Hibbs, 1996). Since the SHRP program, several WZIATs have been developed, evaluated by departments of transportation (DOTs) and implemented in work zones on many highway projects. [...]the researchers investigated the potential usefulness of WZIATs on reported fatal work zone intrusion cases. [...]the researchers identified and evaluated work zone fatality cases captured in the NIOSH Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program to determine whether WZIATs could have prevented the reported fatalities. [...]construction and maintenance workers are provided additional reaction time if an intrusion occurs before the activity zone.
Keywords
Research; Fatalities; Highway Construction; Injury Prevention; Traffic Accidents & Safety; Automobile Safety; Roads & Highways; Transportation Planning; Electronic Mail Systems; Researchers; Intrusion; General Contractors; Occupational Health; Vehicles; Studies; Workers; Employees; Construction Industry; Traffic Control; United States--us; Canada; Kansas; Oregon
Acolin, Arthur; Hoek-Smit, Marja C.; Eloy, Claudia Magalhaes. (2019). High Delinquency Rates in Brazil’s Minha Casa Minha Vida Housing Program: Possible Causes and Necessary Reforms. Habitat International, 83, 99 – 110.
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Abstract
Brazil's main housing program, Minha Casa Minha Vida (MCMV), has contracted the construction of over 3 million housing units since 2009, providing access to homeownership for low and middle-income households through a combination of credit, subsidies and guarantees. In this paper, we analyze disaggregated delinquency information at the project level for the section of the program that serves households in the lowest income range (Faixa 1). Our analysis of program performance in six metropolitan regions shows an overall level of delinquency of 28% as of the end of 2015. We identify four hypotheses to explain this elevated level of delinquency: the peripheral location of the units, insufficient income to cover ongoing costs, moral hazard in the management of the program, and organized crime in some projects. Our analysis shows that in 4 of the 6 regions, low-income projects in peripheral locations exhibit substantially higher non-payment levels and that lower income households have higher levels of delinquency. Based on our analysis, we recommend modifications to program design, including the inclusion of location criteria in subsidy scaling. The findings provide evidence of the limits of MCMV Faixa l's approach to solving Brazilian low-income housing needs and contribute to an emerging body of literature pointing to the importance of location in housing programs.
Keywords
Income; Urban Growth; Housing; Home Ownership; Moral Hazard; Affordable Housing; Delinquency Rate; Housing Program; Integrated Urban Development; Programa Minha Casa Minha Vida; Social Housing; Mexico; Scale