Inanici, M; Abboushi, B; Safranek, S. (2022). Evaluation of Sky Spectra and Sky Models in Daylighting Simulations. Lighting Research & Technology, 1.
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Abstract
Sky models in daylight simulations represent the luminance variation across the sky-dome for different locations, dates, times and weather conditions, but skies are typically modelled as colourless. Recent studies explore techniques for incorporating the spectral content of daylighting in simulations. This paper provides an evaluation of the existing spectral sky models in lighting simulation software. The comparisons are made between the available mathematical sky models and naturally occurring skies that were recorded using high dynamic range photography and spectrophotometric measurements. The results show that recently developed sky models present progress compared to colourless sky models, but further research is needed to accurately simulate daylight spectra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; Copyright of Lighting Research & Technology is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. 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.)
Cheng, Tao; Teizer, Jochen; Migliaccio, Giovanni C.; Gatti, Umberto C. (2013). Automated Task-Level Activity Analysis through Fusion of Real Time Location Sensors and Worker’s Thoracic Posture Data. Automation In Construction, 29, 24 – 39.
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Abstract
Knowledge of workforce productivity and activity is crucial for determining whether a construction project can be accomplished on time and within budget. Significant work has been done on improving and assessing productivity and activity at task, project, or industry levels. Task level productivity and activity analysis are used extensively within the construction industry for various purposes, including cost estimating, claim evaluation, and day-to-day project management. The assessment is mostly performed through visual observations and after-the-fact analyses even though previous studies show automatic translation of operations data into productivity information and provide spatial information of resources for specific construction operations. An original approach is presented that automatically assesses labor activity. Using data fusion of spatio-temporal and workers' thoracic posture data, a framework was developed for identifying and understanding the worker's activity type over time. This information is used to perform automatic work sampling that is expected to facilitate real-time productivity assessment. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Keywords
Detectors; Construction Projects; Labor Supply; Real-time Control; Construction Costs; Project Management; Machine Translating; Activity And Task Analysis; Construction Worker; Data Fusion; Health; Location Tracking; Productivity; Safety; Sensors; Thoracic Posture Data; Workforce; Construction Industry; Costing; Labour Resources; Sensor Fusion; Real-time Productivity Assessment; Automatic Work Sampling; Worker Activity Type; Spatio-temporal Data; Labor Activity Assessment; Construction Operations; Spatial Information; Productivity Information; Day-to-day Project Management; Claim Evaluation; Cost Estimating; Task Level Productivity; Industry Levels; Project Levels; Construction Project; Workforce Activity; Workforce Productivity; Worker Thoracic Posture Data; Real Time Location Sensors Fusion; Automated Task-level Activity Analysis; Construction-industry Productivity
Fantilli, Alessandro P.; Nemati, Kamran M.; Chiaia, Bernardino. (2016). Efficiency Index for Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Lining at Ultimate Limit State. Sustainable And Resilient Infrastructure, 1(1-2), 84 – 91.
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Abstract
The fiber contribution to the ultimate limit state capacity of precast and cast-in situ tunnel linings is analytically investigated. By means of a numerical model, capable of computing the interaction curves of reinforced concrete cross sections subjected to combined compressive and bending actions, the mechanical performances of plain and fiber-reinforced concrete are compared. As a result, a new index is introduced to quantify the effectiveness of fiber addition. The higher the efficiency index, the higher the amount of steel reinforcing bar that can be removed from a plain concrete cross section. The application to real concrete linings, where shear resistance is ensured without shear reinforcement, shows that a large volume of rebar can be saved by the presence of steel fibers. This gives significant advantages in terms of durability and rapidity of tunnel construction.
Keywords
Fiber-reinforced Concrete; Efficiency Index; Ultimate Limit State; Cast-in Situ Concrete Lining; Precast Tunnel Segments
Chen, Peng; Shen, Qing; Childress, Suzanne. (2018). A GPS Data-based Analysis of Built Environment Influences on Bicyclist Route Preferences. International Journal Of Sustainable Transportation, 12(3), 218 – 231.
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Abstract
This study examines the effects of built environment features, including factors of land use and road network, on bicyclists' route preferences using the data from the city of Seattle. The bicycle routes are identified using a GPS dataset collected from a smartphone application named CycleTracks. The route choice set is generated using the labeling route approach, and the cost functions of route alternatives are based on principal component analyses. Then, two mixed logit models, focusing on random parameters and alternative-specific coefficients, respectively, are estimated to examine bicyclists' route choice. The major findings of this study are as follows: (1) the bicycle route choice involves the joint consideration of convenience, safety, and leisure; (2) most bicyclists prefer to cycle on shorter, flat, and well-planned bicycle facilities with slow road traffic; (3) some bicyclists prefer routes surrounded by mixed land use; (4) some bicyclists favor routes which are planted with street trees or installed with street lights; and (5) some bicyclists prefer routes along with city features. This analysis provides valuable insights into how well-planned land use and road network can facilitate efficient, safe, and enjoyable bicycling.
Keywords
Cyclists; Mobile Apps; Multiple Correspondence Analysis (statistics); Traffic Engineering; Cycling; Bicycle Route Choice; Built Environment; Labeling Routes; Mixed Logit Model; Principal Component Analysis; Smartphone GPS Data; Choice Sets; Safe Routes; Walking; Models; Health; Infrastructure; Facilities; California; Networks
Tobey, Michael B.; Binder, Robert B.; Yoshida, Takahiro; Yamagata, Yoshiki. (2019). Urban Systems Design Case Study: Tokyo’s Sumida Ward. Smart Cities, 2(4), 453 – 470.
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Abstract
Meeting the needs of increasing environmental and systematic pressures in urban settlements requires the use of integrated and wholistic approaches. The Urban Systems Design (USD) Conceptual Framework joins the metric-based modeling of rationalized methods with human-driven goals to form a combined iterative design and analysis loop. The framework processes information for the fundamental element of cities-humans-to large-scale modeling and decision-making occurring in district- and ward-level planning. There is a need in the planning and design profession to better integrate these efforts at a greater scale to create smart communities that are inclusive and comprehensive in aspects from data management to energy and transportation networks. The purpose of this study is to examine the applicability of this method as it pertains to a model and design integrated approach. Northern Sumida Ward, located in Tokyo, exemplifies the contextualized needs of Tokyo, and Japan, while forming a coherent internal community. Focusing on methodology, our process explores the creation of typologies, metric-based analysis, and design-based approaches that are integrated into modeling. The results of the analyses provide initial evidence regarding the validity of the USD approach in modeling changes to complex systems at differing design scales, connecting various qualities of the built environment, building and urban forms, and diagnostic comparisons between baseline and change conditions. Because of some inconsistencies and the need for further evidence gathering, the methods and processes show that there is much work to be done to strengthen the model and to continue building a more productive field of USD. However, in this framework's continuing evolution, there is increasing evidence that combining the planning and design of urban systems creates a more resilient, economically viable, sustainable, and comfortable city.
Keywords
Urban Planning; Resilience; Sustainability; Economics; Human Factors; Tokyo; Planning Support System; Gis
Dunn, Peter T. (2021). Autonomous People: Identity, Agency, and Automated Driving. Journal Of Urban Technology, 28(3-4), 25 – 44.
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Abstract
The prevailing discourse on autonomous vehicles (AVs) has not yet developed a sophisticated conceptualization of autonomy and has given insufficient attention to the autonomy of people. In response, this article shifts our attention away from the AV's autonomy and towards that of its user. Autonomy is conceived here as the socially and materially situated capacity of an individual to identify and act on one's own values and desires, a capacity that is desirable for collective political life. This definition is drawn selectively from a survey of thought illustrating the richness of this concept. I then examine how studies of transportation have already made use of certain themes of autonomy in understanding mobility practices beyond dominant utilitarian models. This sets up an examination of AVs, where the existing literature tends to use a narrow conceptualization of autonomy. I then briefly examine two examples of unsettled questions in AV development, discretionary user controls and shared ride systems, in light of autonomy. The goal of this article is both to show how autonomy can be productive in understanding mobility practices, and to argue for personal autonomy as a normative value worth pursuing in the technical, political, and social development of automated mobility systems.
Keywords
Car Use; Vehicles; Travel; Accidents; Policy; Autonomy; Agency; Autonomous Vehicles; Mobility
Zhong, Bo; Wu, Shuang; Sun, Geng; Wu, Ning. (2022). Farmers’ Strategies to Climate Change and Urbanization: Potential of Ecosystem-based Adaptation in Rural Chengdu, Southwest China. International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health, 19(2).
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Abstract
Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) is emerging as a cost-effective approach for helping people adapt to climate and non-climate changes. Nowadays, climate change and urbanization have affected agricultural systems, but it is not clear how rural communities have responded or adapted to those changes. Here, we chose two typical villages in the Chengdu Plain, southwest China, through sociological surveys on 90 local farmers with a semi-structured questionnaire, participatory observation, geospatial analysis of land use and land cover, and a literature review, to explore the local people's perception of changes or disturbances and their adaptation strategies from the perspective of EbA. The results showed that climate change and urbanization had impacted agricultural systems dramatically in the last 40 years. In two case-study sites, climate change and urbanization were perceived by most local farmers as the main drivers impacting on agricultural production, but various resource-use models containing abundant traditional knowledge or practices as well as modern tools, such as information communication technology (ICT), were applied to adapt to these changes. Moreover, culture service through the adaptive decoration of rural landscapes is becoming a new perspective for implementing an EbA strategy. Finally, our findings highlighted the potential value of an EbA strategy for sustaining urban-rural integrated development and enhancing the resilience of agricultural systems.
Keywords
Ecosystem-based Adaptation (eba); Chengdu Plain; Climate Change; Urbanization; Agricultural System; Traditional Knowledge Or Practice; Functioning Ecosystem; Agro-biodiversity; Resilience; Services; Diversity; Polls & Surveys; Spatial Analysis; Topography; Rural Communities; Biodiversity; Questionnaires; Adaptation; International Organizations; Land Use; Climate Change Adaptation; Canals; Irrigation; Land Cover; Ecosystems; Case Studies; Literature Reviews; Agriculture; Farmers; Environmental Economics; Sustainable Development; Rural Areas; Gross Domestic Product--gdp; Agricultural Production; Urban Areas; Cultural Heritage; China
Comu, Semra; Iorio, Josh; Taylor, John E.; Dossick, Carrie Sturts. (2013). Quantifying the Impact of Facilitation on Transactive Memory System Formation in Global Virtual Project Networks. Journal Of Construction Engineering & Management, 139(3), 294 – 303.
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Abstract
Building strong ties between geographically dispersed project participants is crucial to project success. In global project networks, many firms have adopted virtual collaboration tools to address the challenges imposed by temporal and geographical distance. Some researchers have examined the role of facilitators and found that process facilitation can improve collaboration. Research has also shown that facilitators can be drawn into content interactions, which may negatively impact collaboration effectiveness in virtual workspaces. Research to date has not quantified this negative impact. In this study, the formation and maintenance of transactive memory systems (TMS) in two facilitated and two nonfacilitated global virtual project networks were investigated, each executing a 2-month project. Using TMS formation and cohesive subgroup formation as a proxy for performance, quantitative evidence was found that demonstrates a negative impact on collaboration effectiveness when facilitators engage in content facilitation in virtual project networks. This paper shows that this negative impact restricts the establishment of TMSs. These findings have important implications for understanding and designing appropriate facilitator interactions in global virtual project networks. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000610. (C) 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Keywords
Globalisation; Groupware; International Collaboration; Production Engineering Computing; Project Management; Process Facilitation; Transactive Memory System Formation; Global Virtual Project Network; Virtual Collaboration Tool; Temporal Distance; Geographical Distance; Content Interaction; Virtual Workspace; Tms Cohesive Subgroup Formation; Content Facilitation; Knowledge Transfer; Group Cohesiveness; Group Cohesion; Performance; Teams; Models; Globalization; Networks; Project Networks; Social Network Analysis; Transactive Memory Systems; Virtual Teams
Feld, Shara I.; Spencer, Benjamin R.; Bolton, Susan M. (2016). Improved Fog Collection Using Turf Reinforcement Mats. Journal Of Sustainable Water In The Built Environment, 2(3).
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Abstract
Impoverished communities are particularly vulnerable to increasing water scarcity. The development of low-cost technologies that improve access to unconventional water sources, such as the freshwater contained in fog, is one way to address water scarcity. Passive fog collectors, sited to maximize exposure to orographic and advection fog, are typically constructed using 35% Raschel mesh stretched within a structural frame. To assess improvements to this technology, the fog collection potential of nonwoven turf reinforcement mats ( TRM), underwent preliminary testing in a laboratory fog tunnel and more conclusive testing at a field site in Lima, Peru. In fog tunnel tests, both of the two tested TRM specimens increased fog collection yields over 35% Raschel mesh by 26 and 33% respectively. At one field site, the tested mats increased fog collection yields over 35% Raschel mesh by 62 and 75% respectively. At a second field site, these materials increased collection volumes over the 35% Raschel mesh by 146 and 178% respectively. Differences in TRM performance at different sites were likely due to different orientation to prevailing winds at the two test stations. This work suggests that nonwoven turf reinforcement mats have the potential to improve water access in arid, foggy low income communities. (C) 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Keywords
Water; Efficiency; Fresh Water; Water Resources; Water Supply; Peru; Fog Capture
Kang, Mingyu; Moudon, Anne V.; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Saelens, Brian E. (2018). Capturing Fine-Scale Travel Behaviors: A Comparative Analysis between Personal Activity Location Measurement System (PALMS) and Travel Diary. International Journal Of Health Geographics, 17(1).
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Abstract
BackgroundDevice-collected data from GPS and accelerometers for identifying active travel behaviors have dramatically changed research methods in transportation planning and public health. Automated algorithms have helped researchers to process large datasets with likely fewer errors than found in other collection methods (e.g., self-report travel diary). In this study, we compared travel modes identified by a commonly used automated algorithm (PALMS) that integrates GPS and accelerometer data with those obtained from travel diary estimates.MethodsSixty participants, who made 2100 trips during seven consecutive days of data collection, were selected from among the baseline sample of a project examining the travel behavior impact of a new light rail system in the greater Seattle, WA (USA) area. GPS point level analyses were first conducted to compare trip/place and travel mode detection results using contingency tables. Trip level analyses were then performed to investigate the effect of proportions of time overlap between travel logs and device-collected data on agreement rates. Global performance (with all subjects' data combined) and subject-level performance of the algorithm were compared at the trip level.ResultsAt the GPS point level, the overall agreement rate of travel mode detection was 77.4% between PALMS and the travel diary. The agreement rate for vehicular trip detection (84.5%) was higher than for bicycling (53.5%) and walking (58.2%). At the trip level, the global performance and subject-level performance of the PALMS algorithm were 46.4% and 42.4%, respectively. Vehicular trip detection showed highest agreement rates in all analyses. Study participants' primary travel mode and car ownership were significantly related to the subject-level mode agreement rates.ConclusionsThe PALMS algorithm showed moderate identification power at the GPS point level. However, trip level analyses found lower agreement rates between PALMS and travel diary data, especially for active transportation. Testing different PALMS parameter settings may serve to improve the detection of active travel and help expand PALMS's applicability in geographically different urbanized areas with a variety of travel modes.
Keywords
Transportation Planning; Public Health; Accelerometers; Global Positioning System; Voyages & Travels; Cycling; Algorithms; Accelerometer; Automated Algorithm; Gis; Gps; Places; Trips; Global Positioning Systems; Physical-activity; Data-collection; Health Research; Gps Data; Accelerometry; Validity