Digital Commons Network^™

A State Aggregation Approach For Stochastic Multiperiod Last-Mile Ride-Sharing Problems, Lucas Agussurja, Shih-Fen Cheng, Hoong Chuin Lau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The arrangement of last-mile services is playing an increasingly important role in making public transport more accessible. We study the use of ridesharing in satisfying last-mile demands with the assumption that demands are uncertain and come in batches. The most important contribution of our paper is a two-level Markov decision process framework that is capable of generating a vehicle-dispatching policy for the aforementioned service. We introduce state summarization, representative states, and sample-based cost estimation as major approximation techniques in making our approach scalable. We show that our approach converges and solution quality improves as sample size increases. We also apply …

Investigation Into Photovoltaic Distributed Generation Penetration In The Low Voltage Distribution Network, Shivananda Pukhrem

Doctoral

Significant integration of photovoltaic distributed generation (PVDG) in the low voltage distribution network (LVDN) could potentially pose threats and challenges to the core activity of distribution system operators (DSO), which is to transport electrical energy in a reliable and cost-effective way. The main aim of this research is to investigate the active planning and operation of LVDNs with increased PVDG integration through steady state power system analysis. To address the impacts of voltage profile fluctuation due to power flow modification, this research proposes a probabilistic risk assessment of power quality (PQ) variations and events that may arise due to significant …

Technology For Integrated Groyne-Vetiver Erosion Reduction (Tiger): Case Study In A West African River, Chase M. West

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

River erosion is a problem all over the world. The effects of river erosion are especially hard for farmers in developing countries, where the river is an important part of their farming practices and daily lives. A case study was done in the small village of Fode Binea in Senegal, West Africa to reduce this stream erosion. A new hybrid approach, Technology for Integrated Groyne-Vetiver Erosion Reduction (TIGER) method, was developed. The method includes combining groynes at the toe of the riverbank to reduce toe erosion in the channel and planting a buffer strip with vetiver grass to reduce erosion …

The Short-Term Effects Of Interstate Highways On Small Rural Communities: A Case Study Of I-39, I-49 And I-72, 1990 To 2000, John Paul Metelko

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The presence of interstate highways in rural areas improves access to nearby rural

communities and changes those communities’ spheres of influence. Research into

understanding how improved access from interstate highways affects rural communities

is needed. This case study was designed to investigate how rural communities changed

on the basis of population, vacancy, median home value, and median contract rent in the

short term after an interstate highway was completed nearby in the early 1990s.

The communities included in this study are incorporated cities, towns, villages

and census-designated places in non-metropolitan counties with at least one incorporated

city, town, village and …

The Drones' Impact On Precision Agriculture, Ibrahim Naji

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A study to assess the overall impact of drones in the agricultural sector. The specific goal of this research was to provide a drone system to ward off pestering birds from crops to allow for better growth and an increased yield. Along with providing a user-friendly coded drone system for farmers that is cost effective, this project has inspired other areas of use for the drone.

Aircraft Interior Design And Satisfaction For Different Activities; A New Approach Toward Understanding Passenger Experience, Golnoosh Torkashvand, Lucas Stephane, Peter Vink

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Among airlines and aircraft manufacturers there is much attention for passenger experience. However, there is not much literature on how the activities of passengers can be supported by the aircraft interior. The current study focuses on the need finding and requirements analysis of flight passengers. Twenty-three activities were defined based on retrospective interviews and brainstorming sessions. Respondents were asked to rate their overall perception related to the importance of each of those 23 activities on a Linkert scale, from “not at all important” to “extremely important”. On a separate question they were also asked to rate their overall satisfaction by …

Application Of Battery Energy Storage System For Frequency Regulation Of Mae Hong Son Microgrid, Arnon Teawnarong

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Mae Hong Son microgrid in an isolated mode has low inertia. Therefore, when a disturbance occurs, the system frequency is subjected to a large deviation, which may lead to a blackout. The installation of a battery energy storage system (BESS) will improve the frequency response performance of the microgrid system in both islanding and grid-connected modes. The objective of this thesis is to investigate and compare BESS control methods for providing primary and secondary frequency response. The results show that the control of BESS for providing primary frequency response using virtual droop and virtual inertia approaches can reduce the frequency …

Improvement Of Forex Pairs Trading Strategy With Machine Learning Algorithms, Ronnachai Jirapongpan

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This thesis aims to study machine learning to improve the trading performance of pairs trading strategy. Pairs trading strategy is one of the most well-known algorithm trading developed in the 1980s by a group of scientists and mathematicians. The concept of the pairs trading strategy is to exploit the mispricing of two equities which their prices tend to move in the same manner. When the algorithm captures the mispricing behavior by equations or indicators, traders open a short position on the equity which its price is relatively higher than the equilibrium and open long position of the other equity. If …

การหาความสัมพันธ์อุณหภูมิพื้นผิวจากข้อมูลจากดาวเทียม Landsat 8 ระบบ Tirs กับ ค่าดัชนีพืชพรรณ ค่าเน้นภาพพืชพรรณ และดัชนีสิ่งปลูกสร้างในพื้นที่เขตกรุงเทพและปริมณฑล, ปริยานุช โสภา

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

อุณหภูมิพื้นผิว (Land surface temperature : LST) มีความสำคัญอย่างยิ่งในการศึกษาการเปลี่ยนแปลงของสภาพภูมิอากาศ การศึกษานี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อหาความสัมพันธ์ของการเปลี่ยนแปลงอุณหภูมิพื้นผิว เมื่อเทียบกับดัชนีพืชพรรณ (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index : NDVI), ดัชนีเน้นภาพพืชพรรณ (Enhanced Vegetation Index : EVI) และ ดัชนีสิ่งปลูกสร้าง (Normalized Difference Built Index : NDBI) วิเคราะห์จากข้อมูลดาวเทียม Landsat 8 ระบบ OLI และ TIRS ที่มีรายละเอียดเชิงพื้นที่ 30 และ 100 เมตร ของพื้นที่ศึกษากรุงเทพมหานครและปริมณฑล ในปี พ.ศ. 2557 - 2561 ซึ่งทำการคำนวนหาอุณหภูมิพื้นผิวด้วยวิธี Split-Window algorithm มาทำการเปรียบเทียบหาความสัมพันธ์กันในเชิงสถิติของอุณหภูมิพื้นผิวกับค่าดัชนีพืชพรรณ ค่าดัชนีเน้นภาพพืชพรรณ และค่าดัชนีสิ่งปลูกสร้าง ผลจากการศึกษาพบว่า มีความสัมพันธ์เชิงลบกับค่าดัชนีพืชพรรณและค่าดัชนีเน้นภาพพืชพรรณ จากลักษณะดังกล่าวสามารถอธิบายได้ว่าเมื่ออุณหภูมิพื้นผิวสูงขึ้น ค่าดัชนีพืชพรรณและค่าดัชนีเน้นภาพพืชพรรณจะลดลง และมีความสัมพันธ์เชิงบวกกับค่าดัชนีสิ่งปลูกสร้าง กล่าวได้ว่าเมื่ออุณหภูมิมีการเปลี่ยนแปลงค่าดัชนีสิ่งปลูกจะมีการเปลี่ยนแปลงไปในทิศทางเดียวกันกับอุณภูมิพื้นผิว เมื่อพิจารณาความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างอุณหภูมิพื้นผิวกับดัชนีพืชพรรณ ดัชนีเน้นภาพพืชพรรณ และดัชนีสิ่งปลูกสร้างในแต่ละฤดูกาลจึงพบว่า ในฤดูฝนดัชนีพืชพรรณสามารถบอกความถูกต้องของความสัมพันธ์ที่ดีกว่าดัชนีอื่นอยู่ที่ RMSE = 0.08 ในฤดูหนาวดัชนีเน้นภาพพืชพรรณสามารถบอกความถูกต้องของความสัมพันธ์ได้ดีกว่าดัชนีอื่นอยู่ที่ RMSE = 0.04 และพบว่าว่าในฤดูร้อนดัชนีสิ่งปลูกสร้างสามารถบอกความถูกต้องของความสัมพันธ์ได้ดีว่าฤดูอื่นอยู่ที่ RMSE = 0.08 ดังนั้นจากการศึกษาทั้งหมดพบว่าพื้นที่ที่มีความเป็นพืชพรรณสูงจะสามารถช่วยลดอุณหภูมิพื้นผิวลงได้ และดัชนีสิ่งปลูกสร้างทำให้ค่าอุณหภูมิพื้นผิวมีการเปลี่ยนแปลง ดังนั้นการการสร้างแบบจำลองปรากฏการณ์ Urban Heat Island จากตัวแปรเหล่านี้อาจต้องการการวิเคราะห์และทดสอบเพิ่มเติมเพื่อให้แน่ใจได้ว่า ตัวแปรเหล่านี้สามารถให้ความถูกต้องที่เพียงพอต่อการสร้างแบบจำลองปรากฏการณ์ Urban Heat Island ได้จริง

Environmental Policy Assessment In The Ghanaian Gold Mining Industry: Insights From Stakeholders, Francis Tuokuu

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Environmental policy assessment has been recognized by critical stakeholders (e.g., governments, local communities, academics, environmental advocacy groups, and mining companies) as an effective way of identifying and dealing with the myriad of environmental problems confronting humanity, particularly those caused by mining activities. While the gold mining sector has contributed to the economies of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa since the introduction of structural adjustment programs (SAPs) in the 1980s by the Bretton Woods institutions (the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund; IMF), the sector has also contributed to environmental degradation including water pollution, land contaminations, and generally, human health concerns …

Biofuel Supply Chain Restructuring -- An Economic Viability And Environmental Sustainability Investigation For Enhancing Second Generation Biofuel Adoption, Rajkamal Kesharwani

Doctoral Dissertations

"Biofuel is a promising clean alternative to fossil fuels. Currently, first generation biofuels are commercially produced by using corn grain as biomass feedstock. However, the use of edible matter of crops, may lead to a competition between food and fuel. Therefore, there is a significant push in both industry and academia to commercialize second generation biofuel manufacturing technology, which uses non-edible matter from crops. Most research focuses on individual manufacturing processes for producing second generation biofuel, but the economic and environmental impacts of a large-scale adoption of second generation biofuel manufacturing have been less widely reported.

This work investigates the …

Military Applications Of Geological Engineering, Stephen H. Tupper

Doctoral Dissertations

"This work examines the premise that military engineering and geological engineering are intellectually paired and overlapped in practice to a significant extent. Geological engineering is an established, albeit young, academic discipline that enjoys wide industry and civil demand and is supported by many professional organizations. In contrast, military engineering is an ancient, empirically derived training or "OJT" program with practice-based trade-associations that has narrow government-only utility. The premise is formed by decades-long observation of U. S. Army military engineer officers completing a Master of Science degree in geological engineering as a complement to their practice-based training in military engineering at …

Analyzing Twitter Feeds To Facilitate Crises Informatics And Disaster Response During Mass Emergencies, Arshdeep Kaur

Dissertations

It is a common practice these days for general public to use various micro-blogging platforms, predominantly Twitter, to share ideas, opinions and information about things and life. Twitter is also being increasingly used as a popular source of information sharing during natural disasters and mass emergencies to update and communicate the extent of the geographic phenomena, report the affected population and casualties, request or provide volunteering services and to share the status of disaster recovery process initiated by humanitarian-aid and disaster-management organizations. Recent research in this area has affirmed the potential use of such social media data for various disaster …

Long-Term Impact On Environmental Attitudes And Knowledge Assessed Over Three Semesters Of An Environmental Engineering Sequence, Benjamin Michael Wallen, Nathaniel Sheehan, Luke Plante, Erick Martinez, Jeffrey A. Starke

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The pedagogy employed in a three-course environmental engineering sequence is investigated to determine the efficacy of enabling long-term improvement of knowledge and attitudes toward the environment. These three courses incorporate concepts of the five grand challenges released by the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Sciences and increase the breadth of knowledge for T-professionals. Previous studies of lengths from a few weeks to semester long courses evaluated the potential causality among various demographics and environmental knowledge and attitudes. The research presented herein contrasts and compares changes in environmental knowledge based upon a 12-question survey and changes in environmental …

A Review Of 3d Gis For Use In Creating Virtual Historic Dublin, Alain Chenaux, Maurice Murphy, S. Pavia, S. Fai, T. Molnar, John Cahill, Shane Lenihan, A. Corns

Conference papers

This paper illustrates how BIM integration with GIS is approached as part of the workflow in creating Virtual Historic Dublin. A design for a WEB based interactive 3D model of historic buildings and centres in Dublin City (Virtual Historic Dublin City) paralleling smart city initiates is now under construction and led by the National Monuments at the Office of Public Works in Ireland. The aim is to facilitate the conservation and maintenance of historic infrastructure and fabric and the dissemination of knowledge for education and cultural tourism using an extensive Historic Building Information Model. Remote sensing data is now processed …

Adapting The Surveying Curriculum To New Dimensions Of The Profession, Fahria Masum, Reinfried Mansberger, Audrey Martin, Gerhard Navratil, Anthony Mushinge

Articles

Today the surveying profession is very different from what it was twenty years ago. Recent technological innovations, globalization, and global land-related challenges have allowed a wide range of advances in the surveying profession. The vision is to promote surveying practices that can enhance the quality of services in a variety of tracks in the land profession. According to the new adjacent professional areas and the needs of the labor market, academic courses for surveyors have to be adapted to meet the broader scope of the surveying profession and to supply highly qualified land professionals. This paper outlines the new challenges …

Effect Of Model Of Care And Comorbidities On Multiple-Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Treatment In Nigeria, Oluremilekun Comfort Kusimo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a public health problem in several countries such as Angola, India, China, Kenya, and Nigeria. Due to the increasing high burden of MDR-TB, most of these countries do not have adequate capacities to manage MDR-TB patients effectively. This study investigated the effect of model of care; human immunodeficiency virus comorbidity; and demographic factors such as age, gender, and marital status on the treatment outcomes of MDR-TB patients in Nigeria. The study was based on the analysis of secondary data of 402 MDR-TB patients accessed from the data systems of the National Tuberculosis, Buruli Ulcer, and Leprosy …

Leadership Characteristics In Flexible Information Technology Environments, Chrisilia Bristow

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have found that a positive correlation exists between information technology (IT) flexibility, IT effectiveness, and strategic alignment in organizations. It has been determined that within inflexible IT environments maintainability is reduced and key business factors become at risk. An IT flexibility measurement matrix was developed to assess IT flexibility however leadership characteristics were not identified for measurement with that model. Determining the leadership characteristics needed for IT flexibility was the purpose of this multiple case study. Leveraging the empowerment, situational leadership, IT-business equilibrium, and complexity change theories, the research questions were focused on the leadership characteristics exhibited by organizational …

17-06 Public Vs Private Transportation Network Accessibility And Maternal-Infant Health Outcomes Across The Urban-Rural Boundary In Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Kathleen Baker

Transportation Research Center Reports

This project is twofold. The first part of the project deals specifically with the benefits of multimodal transportation modeling to understand community structure of public health access in a community. Maternal risk and infant outcomes are examined in Kalamazoo County, MI with respect to transportation network accessibility by public transit and private vehicle across the urban-rural continuum. Infants born to mothers just outside the urban core had a higher rate of poor outcomes. Maternal risk factors, by contrast, were associated with the accessible rural areas – areas outside the city proper, but within 30 minutes by car to services. When …

Comparing Beijing's And Tokyo's Population Growths, Ernest M. Oleksy

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

The growth of the human population has led to the formation of largely populated agglomerations known as megacities. Although megacities can be found on multiple continents, Asia’s collection displays how megacities can develop in their own directions. Japan’s megacity of Tokyo, like other Japanese megacities, has adopted a western approach. China’s Beijing, on the other hand, continues to embrace its eastern roots. These megacities may differ in their ideologies, but they share in experiencing similar phenomena. One of these phenomena is population growth.

Open Source Foundations For Spatial Decision Support Systems, Jochen Albrecht

Publications and Research

Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS) were a hot topic in the 1990s, when researchers tried to imbue GIS with additional decision support features. Successful practical developments such as HAZUS or CommunityViz have since been built, based on commercial desktop software and without much heed for theory other than what underlies their process models. Others, like UrbanSim, have been completely overhauled twice but without much external scrutiny. Both the practical and the theoretical foundations of decision support systems have developed considerably over the past 20 years. This article presents an overview of these developments and then looks at what corresponding tools …

A Dynamic Policing Simulation Framework, Khan Md Ariful Haque

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Crime is a serious problem to a society, and its costs are an economic burden. With the help of technology and developed tools, law enforcement agencies are making significant efforts to combat crime, so as to create a safer environment for society, both mentally and physically. The dynamic nature of crime and limited police resources often make their efforts challenging. Although there are numerous crime prediction models found in the policing literature, guidelines for policing strategies based on those models are still lacking. Towards addressing this gap, this dissertation constructs a dynamic policing simulation framework based on the concept of …

Low Temperature Desiccants In Atmospheric Water Generation., Sunil Gupta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Surging global water demand as well as changes to weather patterns and over exploitation of natural water sources, such as ground water, has made potable water a critical resource in many parts of the World already – one rapidly heading towards a crisis situation. Desalination has been adopted as a solution – this is however energy intensive and impractical for most of the developing countries - those most in need of water. A renewable source of energy is solar thermal and solar photovoltaic. A plentiful source of water is the humidity in the atmosphere. This research is to push the …

A Stormwater Management Model For California Polytechnic State University Campus, Hsuan-Wen Chu

Master's Theses

Developments that have been taking place on Cal Poly campus over the years have altered the natural hydrology of the area. Stormwater management practices could help reduce the impacts of these developments. Computer models can help to design effective and economical stormwater management solutions at a watershed scale. As such, the objective of this study was to develop a stormwater management model for Cal Poly campus. The model was developed based on the utility data obtained from the university and other watershed data available from open sources. Field surveys were conducted to address some anomalies in the utility data, and …

Case Study: Effect Of Rideshare And Autonomous Vehicles On Parking Requirements In The Bay Area, Ryan J. Macintosh

Construction Management

With our streets becoming over crowded with many different modes of transportation, parking has followed this trend and proven to be much more difficult for people. This has frustrated citizens and developers alike because there never seems to be enough parking when it’s needed and finding the space and resources necessary to provide sufficient amounts is becoming increasingly difficult. The objective of this report is to create more awareness of how rideshare and autonomous vehicles are affecting parking requirements imposed by cities. The world we live in can change very fast and in order to accommodate for these changes, we …

Exploratory Analysis Of Accuracy Monitoring Techniques In Vehicle Detection Systems For Intelligent Transportation Systems Applications And Maintenance, Manasi Sanjay Palod

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of transportation management is to ensure the mobility of people and goods, in a reliable and efficient manner. Operation and maintenance of transportation infrastructure is key to accomplish their objectives. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) applications rely on massive detection networks that collectively demand significant maintenance resources. Resource constraints force transportation agencies to look for innovative ways to optimize their operational and maintenance costs while serving their users at intended performance levels. The system inputs come from vehicle detection system (VDS), acting as field data collection devices, enabling traffic monitoring and management through response to specific conditions. This research …

Webinar: Segmenting The Market For Transportation Demand Management Campaigns, Philip L. Winters, Amy Lester

TREC Webinar Series

Social marketing seeks to develop and integrate marketing concepts with other approaches to influence behaviors that benefit individuals and communities for the greater social good. It is a useful transportation demand management (TDM) planning approach to promote travel behavior change. The purpose of this study was to explore a consumer market segmentation technique successfully used in Europe for its applicability to marketing efforts in the United States. Attitudinal and demographic data were collected from 1900 individuals in Florida, Oregon, and Virginia modeled after the European approach. Clustering analysis was applied to divide the sample into segments so that members of …

Prioritizing Suitable Locations For Green Stormwater Infrastructure Based On Social Factors In Philadelphia, Zachary Christman, Mahbubur Meenar, Lynn Mandarano, Kyle Hearing

School of Earth & Environment Departmental Research

Municipalities across the United States are prioritizing green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) projects due to their potential to concurrently optimize the social, economic, and environmental benefits of the “triple bottom line”. While placement of these features is often based on biophysical variables regarding the natural and built environments, highly urbanized areas often exhibit either limited data or minimal variability in these characteristics. Using a case study of Philadelphia and building on previous work to prioritize GSI features in disadvantaged communities, this study addresses the dual concerns of the inequitable benefits of distribution and suitable site placement of GSI using a model …

Scenarios For Adoption Of Autonomous Vehicle Technologies In Freight, Sabya Mishra

PSU Transportation Seminars

Innovation adoption research has largely ignored organizational adoption, and little work has been done to understand or predict the adoption of innovations by freight organizations. Among the existing innovation adoption theoretical and methodological approaches this seminar will explore which are most appropriate methods for freight organizational adoption. The seminar will present a disaggregate market penetration model for freight transportation organizations adopting connected autonomous vehicle (CAV) technology and demonstrate an application using a case study area in Memphis, TN. The seminar will highlight ongoing and future organizational adoption research for CAVs, and other innovations.

Advances In Automotive Conversion Coatings During Pretreatment Of The Body Structure: A Review, Mark Doerre, Larry Hibbitts, Gabriela Patrick, Nelson K. Akafuah

Institute of Research for Technology Development Faculty Publications

Automotive conversion coatings consist of layers of materials that are chemically applied to the body structures of vehicles before painting to improve corrosion protection and paint adhesion. These coatings are a consequence of surface-based chemical reactions and are sandwiched between paint layers and the base metal; the chemical reactions involved distinctly classify conversion coatings from other coating technologies. Although the tri-cationic conversion coating bath chemistry that was developed around the end of the 20th century remains persistent, environmental, health, and cost issues favor a new generation of greener methods and materials such as zirconium. Environmental forces driving lightweight material selection …