Engineering Commons^™

Workshop | Body Worn Video Recorders: The Socio-Technical Implications Of Gathering Direct Evidence, Katina Michael, Alexander Hayes

Alexander Hayes Mr.

- From in-car video recording to body-worn video recording

- Exploring available technologies: how do they work, pros and cons

- Storing direct evidence in secure storage: factors to consider

- Citizens “shooting” back with POV tech – what are their rights?

- Crowdsourced sousveillance- harnessing public data for forensic profiling

- Police force policies and practices on the application of new media

A Simple Method For Estimation Of Queue Length, S. P. Anusha, Lelitha Devi Vanajakshi, Anuj Sharma

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Urban arterials are characterized by frequent intersections. Queue length and delay are the two primary measures of performance of intersection. These measures play a primary role in determining the arterial performance. This article presents a methodology to determine the number of vehicles in queue at a signalized intersection for under saturated traffic conditions. The results obtained were validated using actual values that are manually extracted. The root-mean-square error is of the range 1.3 vehicles for estimation of number of vehicles in queue. The various aspects that have to be considered in accurate estimation of performance measures are also discussed.

Performance Measure For Transportation Network: A Study In Travel Time Dynamics, Anuj Nayyar

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Arterial Performance Measurement and Monitoring is one of the leading goals of any transportation agency. The complexity of the differences between performance measures is highlighted and the various data collection methodologies are highlighted. A major performance measure that impacts end users and traffic planners is travel time. This study presents defining a mathematical system for modeling travel time. The modeling in real-time is presented and methods are proposed to evaluate it using vehicle trajectories. Also comparative results are presented between the actual sensor data sets and simulated data to study the effectiveness of the system developed.

Performance Comparison Of Design-Build And Construction Manager/General Contractor Highway Projects, Binita Shakya

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Researchers have conducted numerous studies comparing project performance of design-bid-build (DBB) and design-build (DB) highway projects. However, little research has been done to compare the performance of DB and construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC) highway projects. Therefore, an exploratory study was conducted to compare the performance of 55 DB and 34 CM/GC highway projects from various States Departments of Transportation (DOTs) in terms of cost, change orders, and construction intensity. The results showed that contract award cost growth was significantly lower in DB projects than in CM/GC projects. In contrast to this, the total cost growth of DB projects was higher …

Study Of Seat-Belt Usage In Nevada & Driver's Performance, Atul Sancheti

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), motor vehicle incidents has been reported to be the leading cause of the accidental deaths in the United States accounting for more than 42,000 deaths every year. Distracted driving and Driving under influence (DUI) are the major contributors to these roadway crashes. Moreover, drivers fatigue and drowsiness behind the wheel is another important factor contributing to the high fatality rate. These factors results in significant decline in the driver's abilities of perception, recognition and vehicle control.

It has also been reported by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that about 292,471 …

Investigation Of Crashes And Identifying The Best Practices For Setting Up Speed Zones In Towns Along Rural Highways In Nevada, Krishna Prasad Shrestha

Joseph Shrestha

In 2010, 51,664 crashes occurred in Nevada. Only about 9% of those crashes occurred in rural areas of the state. However, if only fatal crashes are considered, 41% of those fatal crashes occurred in rural areas. Generally, speed zones are provided in towns along rural highways to reduce speed-related crashes. However, a guideline is necessary for a consistent procedure to setup speed zones throughout the state. The main objectives of this study are to determine factors associated with crashes and to identify the best practices for setting up speed zones in towns along rural highways.

Eleven towns along rural highways …

Parcel-Level Redevelopment Strategies For Distressed Neighborhoods, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Justin Hollander

Michael P. Johnson

Certain distressed neighborhoods cannot support traditional residential-focused development. For these communities, we develop decision models for acquisition and redevelopment of chronically vacant lands and structures for primarily non-residential and greening uses. We address social benefits and costs of redevelopment strategies, parcel clustering to exploit economies of scale, and conflicting values among stakeholders. We illustrate our models using data from Baltimore, MD.

Quantifying Risks Of Climate Change And Sea Level Rise To Naval Station Norfolk (Serdp Rc-1701), Kelly Burks-Copes

October 2, 2013: Quantifying Risks and Moving Forward

No abstract provided.

Dust To Digital: Electronic Document & Record Management For The Broome County Department Of Public Works- Engineering Divison, Scott R. Mastin

MPA Capstone Projects 2006 - 2015

The Broome County Department of Public Works- Engineering Division is currently preparing to implement an Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS) to store their increasing number of digital records and to manage existing paper records as they are digitized. This study examines Division integrate electronic document and record management into their organization.

Developing A Framework For Determining The Contribution Of Transportation Project To Sustainable Development, Karim Ahmed Abdel Warith

Open Access Dissertations

In the past few years, stakeholders in the transportation industry have been concerned with sustainability. However, transportation decision makers have had difficulty incorporating sustainability into transportation infrastructure decisions. This is mainly attributed to the vagueness of the term. Incorporating sustainability into transportation decision making has been a desire put forth by engineers for that past 10 years. However, with no apparent method of defining sustainability, designers and decision makers have not been able to fulfill this desire.

This investigation attempts to define sustainability in a comprehensive and quantitative manner. The research proposes a new methodology that relies on the objective …

2012 Portland Metropolitan Region Transportation System Performance Report, Robert L. Bertini, Dean George, Matthew Downey

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Our transportation system is a key ingredient in the economy, quality of life and urban fabric of the Portland metropolitan area. It has been stated in the past that it is not possible to manage our transportation system tomorrow unless we understand how it is performing today. In this spirit, Portland State University has been working with regional and statewide partners to develop new capabilities to measure, monitor and track the performance of the transportation system in real time and using archived data sources. We believe that it is possible to leverage these disparate data sources toward providing better transportation …

Travelers' Route Choice Behavior In Risky Networks, Hengliang Tian

Open Access Dissertations

The accurate modeling of travelers’ route choice decision making when faced with unreliable (risky) travel times is necessary for the assessment of policies aimed at improving travel time reliability. Two major objectives are studied in this thesis. The first objective is to evaluate the applicability of a process model to route choice under risk where the actual process of decision making is captured. Traditionally, we adopt “as-if” econometric models to predict people’s route choice decisions. The second objective is to investigate travelers’ capability to incorporate future real-time traffic information into their current route choice decision making. Two separate stated preference …

Issue Brief: Saving By Mitigating, University Of Louisville, New England Environmental Finance Center

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

Natural disasters can cause loss of life, inflict damage to buildings and infrastructure, and have devastating consequences for a community’s economic, social, and environmental well-being. Hazard mitigation means reducing damages from disasters.

Local governments have the responsibility to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens. Proactive mitigation policies and actions help reduce risk and create safer, more disaster-resilient communities. Mitigation is an investment in your community’s future safety, equity, and sustainability.

Space Station 2.0: A Public-Private Model For International Space Exploration, Donovan Torgerson, Josh Berk, Jeremy Straub, Anders Nervold

Jeremy Straub

The international community’s USD$150 billion (€113.94 billion) investment in the International Space Station (ISS) has produced a fraction of the scientific value that was anticipated. This paper presents a concept for how to prevent this problem from occurring for humanity’s next space station project referred to herein as Space Station 2.0. For Space Station 2.0, a research style acquisition program for acquiring modular Space Station components could be used or it could be administered as a commercial facility with international space agencies leasing space for research and other purposes, such as furnished habitat space. Customers may pay a mooring fee …

Improving The Representation Of The Pedestrian Environment In Travel Demand Models, Phase I, Kelly J. Clifton, Patrick Allen Singleton, Christopher Devlin Muhs, Robert J. Schneider, Peter Lagerwey

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

There is growing support for improvements to the quality of the walking environment, including more investments to promote pedestrian travel. Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) are improving regional travel demand forecasting models to better represent walking and bicycling and to expand the evaluative capacity of models to address policy-relevant issues like air quality, public health, and the smart allocation of infrastructure and other resources. This report describes an innovative, spatially disaggregate method to integrate walking activity into trip-based travel models. Using data for the Portland, OR, metropolitan area, the method applies trip generation at a new micro-scale spatial unit: a 264-foot-by-264-foot …

Transit Bus Fleet Age And Replacement Type Optimization, Miguel A. Figliozzi, Wei Feng, Jesse Boudart

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Due to recent budget and fiscal constraints, it is ever more imperative for transit agencies to manage their fleets in an optimal way. Fleet data have consistently shown that bus operational and maintenance (O&M) per-mile costs increase as buses age. From a purely economic perspective, there is a cost tradeoff between the lower O&M costs of newer fleets and their higher initial capital costs. This tradeoff has a significant impact on the optimal timing of purchase and replacement decisions. Utilizing realistic cost data and an optimization modeling framework, we analyze (a) the impact of purchase timing decisions on fleet per-mile …

Research On Safety Supervision Of Tianjin Nanjiang Port Liquefied Natural Gas Floating Storage And Regasification Unit, Yong Xie

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Risk Analysis Of Fire/Explosion To The Lng Fuelled Passenger Ferries, Dan Wang

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Maritime Safety Supervision And Control Of Lng Vessels In China During The Marine Transportation Process, Yali Sun

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Solar Energy Used On Board The Ship And Responding Administration Countermeasures, Xiaoping Zhu

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

The Application Of Smart Phone, Weight-Mile Truck Data To Support Freight-Modeling, Performance Measures And Planning, Katherine E. Bell, Miguel A. Figliozzi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Oregon is one of the few states that currently charge a commercial truck weight-mile tax (WMT). The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has developed a data-collection system – Truck Road Use Electronics (TRUE) – to simplify WMT collection. The TRUE system includes a smart phone application that collects and records Global Positioning System (GPS) data. The TRUE data has enormous advantages over GPS data used in previous research due to its level of geographic detail and the potential to also integrate trip origin and destination, vehicle class, and commodity-type data. This research evaluates the accuracy of the TRUE data and …

Calibration Of Microscopic Traffic Flow Models Considering All Parameters Simultaneously, Victor Hugo Molano Paz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study proposes a methodology to calibrate microscopic traffic flow simulation models. The proposed methodology has the capability to calibrate simultaneously all the calibration parameters as well as demand patterns for any network topology. These parameters include global and local parameters as well as driver behavior and vehicle performance parameters; all based on multiple performance measures, such as link counts and speeds. Demand patterns are included in the calibration framework in terms of turning volumes.

A Simultaneous Perturbation Stochastic Approximation (SPSA) algorithm is proposed to search for the vector of the model‟s parameters that minimizes the difference between actual and …

An End To End V.M.T Framework With Controlled V.M.T Tax Rate Using Optimal Feedback Control Technique, Pratik Verma

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Vehicle Mile Travel (VMT) is a study related to available alternatives for the road

revenue collection system. As per the demand, the existing Gas/Fuel tax based revenue

collection system is not found an appropriate option in the longer run. Due

to existing system constraints like: no eective tax process for vehicles based on alternative

fuel (e.g. electric vehicles), no eective changes in tax due to economical

ination, and more highway expenditure than generated revenue, an alternative revenue

collection mechanism is required. Hence, the objective is to study an alternative

option in detail, which can address the gaps between required revenue …

Scalable Randomized Patrolling For Securing Rapid Transit Networks, Pradeep Varakantham, Hoong Chuin Lau, Zhi Yuan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Mass Rapid Transit using rail is a popular mode of transport employed by millions of people in many urban cities across the world. Typically, these networks are massive, used by many and thus, can be a soft target for criminals. In this paper, we consider the problem of scheduling randomised patrols for improving security of such rail networks. Similar to existing work in randomised patrols for protecting critical infrastructure, we also employ Stackelberg Games to represent the problem. In solving the Stackelberg games for massive rail networks, we make two key contributions. Firstly, we provide an approach called RaPtoR for …

Cyber Defense As Environmental Protection - The Broader Potential Impact Of Failed Defensive Counter Cyber Operations, Jan Kallberg, Rosemary A. Burk

Rosemary A. Burk

Key in the critique of the likelihood of cyber conflict has been the assumption that cyber does not lead to long-term and irrevocable effects – therefore it cannot be fought as a war. This might be true if cyber attacks are constrained to specific functions of a computer system or set of client computers, however, a failed cyberdefense can have wider effects than discussed in earlier debates of potential consequences and risks. The environmental aspect of cyberdefense has not drawn attention as a national security matter. We all, as people, react to threats to our living space and natural environment. …

Agenda: Changing Regulatory Frameworks For Shale Development And "Social License To Operate", University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Changing Regulatory Frameworks for Shale Development and "Social License to Operate" (July 24)

Rapid development of unconventional shale resources in recent years has raised a series of regulatory issues both here and abroad. Because of the "distributed" nature of shale development and the significant increase in wells in key basins, local land-use conflicts have also erupted in certain areas of the country, leading to restrictions and moratoria on drilling by state, county, and municipal governments and raising questions about the industry's continued social license to operate in key jurisdictions. This moderated panel discussion will assess the current regulatory framework governing shale gas development and the changing dynamics among federal, state, and local regulation …

Simulation Analysis Of Container Terminal Capacity At Multi-Terminal Indonesia(Mit), Chandra Irawan

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Taxation Of Cloud Computing And Digital Content, David Shakow

All Faculty Scholarship

“Cloud computing” raises important and difficult questions in state tax law, and for Federal taxes, particularly in the foreign tax area. As cloud computing solutions are adopted by businesses, items we view as tangible are transformed into digital products. In this article, I will describe the problems cloud computing poses for tax systems. I will show how current law is applied to cloud computing and will identify the difficulties current approaches face as they are applied to this developing technology.

My primary interest is how Federal tax law applies to cloud computing, particularly as the new technology affects international transactions. …

More Effective Human Spaceflight Programs And Their International Security Implications, Bert Chapman, Sarag J. Saikia

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

NASA can more effectively perform its missions by transferring its aeronautic responsibilities to the Federal Aviation Administration and be renamed the National Space Agency. The U.S. must also recognize that space is an emerging arena of international competition and conflict and militarily protect its space assets from China which seeks to use space to restrict the U.S.' ability to defend its strategic interests in regions such as the Western Pacific.

A Prototype Decision Support Tool For Ballast Water Risk Management Using A Combination Of Hydrodynamic Models And Agent-Based Modelling, Fleming T. Hansen, Jesper H. Andersen, Michael Potthof, Thomas Uhrenholdt, Hong D. Vo, Olof Lindén

NSBWO

We report the development of a prototype Decision Support Tool (DST) for modelling the risks of spreading of non-indegenous invasive species via ballast water. The DST constitutes of two types of models: A 3D hydrodynamical model calculates the currents in the North Sea and Danish Straits, and an agent-based model estimates the dispersal of selected model organisms with the prevailing currents calculated by the 3D hydrodynamical model. The analysis is concluded by a post processing activity, where scenarios of dispersal are combined into an interim estimate of connectivity within the study area. The latter can be used as a tool …