Abstract

Despite the increasing attention in recent years to the spatial dimensions of economic development, consideration of the importance of space and the recognition that macro, aspatial perspectives can prove to be misleading are not new. Around the world, much of the disappointment with the outcomes from spatial interventions may be traced to a lack of understanding of how regional economies work. This paper reviews the challenges that the consideration of regions brings into economic analysis. This work provides an overview of some of the key methods and tools that can be used to gain a better understanding of how regional economies work. The review aims to guide practitioners and analysts in the use of tools for regional economic analysis and inform discussion of the challenges regions face and the opportunities on which they can build. Document type: Book

Abstract

In this chapter, we explore the potential of community-led air quality monitoring. Community-led air quality monitoring differs from top-down monitoring in many aspects: it is focused on community needs and interests and a local problem and, therefore, has a limited geographical coverage as well as limited temporal coverage. However, localised air quality monitoring can potentially increase the spatial and temporal resolution of air quality information if there is a suitable information-sharing mechanism in place: information from multiple community-led activities can be shared at the city scale and used to augment official information. At the core of the chapter, we provide a detailed experiential description of the process of urban air quality practice, from which we draw our conclusion. We suggest that accessible and reliable community-led air quality monitoring can contribute to the understanding of local environmental issues and improve the dialogue between local authorities and communities about the impacts of air pollution on health and urban and transport planning. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

Imagine that, in 2050, not a single person in the United States dies in a traffic crash. This is the scenario described in this article, in which RAND researchers set forth a vision and strategy for achieving zero roadway deaths by 2050. The authors propose that a combination of three approaches can realize this scenario. The first is doubling down on programs and policies that have already been shown to be effective, including laws and enforcement, changes to roadway infrastructure designed to reduce traffic conflicts, reductions in speeds where crashes are likely, improvements to emergency response and trauma care, and more safety education and outreach. The second is accelerating advanced technology, beginning with advanced driver assistance systems (many of which are already in the market) and progressing up to fully automated vehicles. The third is prioritizing safety, which includes both (1) embracing a new safety culture that will lead Americans to think differently about our individual and collective choices and (2) widespread adoption of the “Safe System” approach, a paradigm shift in addressing the causes and prevention of roadway deaths and injuries. The authors conclude with a list of actions that key stakeholders—including professional engineering and planning organizations, public-sector organizations, safety advocates, vehicle manufacturers, technology developers, public health, emergency medical and trauma care organizations, and law enforcement and judicial system representatives—can take to bring about the changes needed to achieve zero roadway deaths by 2050. Document type: Book

Abstract

International audience; People with disabilities may encounter many communication difficulties. Our main goal is to develop a communication system, called COMMOB, designed to assist people with cerebral palsy in different contexts: at home, at work and in public places. After a brief review of the different categories of as-sistive communication systems, our user-centered design approach is presented. It was tested in a public place in the context of a help request by a cerebral palsy person in a wheelchair. The result concerns particularly the response rate. The assistive power of COMMOB was rated from the respondents' and the user's point of view. The main lesson to be learned is that the most difficult was to attract the attention of people and to engage the interaction. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

Fatigue and driver drowsiness monitoring is an important subject for designing driver assistance systems. The measurement of eye closure is a fundamental step for driver awareness detection. We propose a method which is based on eyelid detection and the measurement of the distance between the eyelids. First, the face and the eyes of the driver are localized. After extracting the eye region, the proposed algorithm detects eyelids and computes the percentage of eye closure. Experimental results are performed on the BioID database. Our comparisons show that the proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art methods. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

Air pollution in one of the main problems that big cities have nowadays. Traffic congestion, heaters, industrial activities, among others produce large quantities of Particulate Matter (PM) that have harmful effects on citizens’ health. This paper presents the design, development and initial validation of a wearable device for the detection of PM concentration, with communication capacity via WiFi and Bluetooth Low Energy and an end user interface. The results are promising due to the high accuracy of measurements collected by the developed device. This solution is a step forward in empowering citizens to prevent being exposed to high levels of air pollution and is the beginning of what could be a macro-network of air quality sensors within a Smart City. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

We present a two-part approach for verifying out-of-order execution. First, the complexity of out-of-order issue and scheduling is handled by creating an in-order abstraction of the out-of-order execution core. Second, incremental flushing addresses the complexity difficulties encountered by automated abstraction functions on very deep pipelines. We illustrate the techniques on a model of a simple out-of-order processor core. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

The application of freight pipeline for the movement of solid goods offers a new option in the field of transportation. This volume examines impacts and their assessments. This study has only identified the areas where truck and/or rail substitution by pipeline may have impacts. It only can be said that pipeline, if it can substitute for surface traffic without correspondingly increasing it at another location, is inherently a more environmentally compatible mode of transport. Based on data presented in this report, it can be stated that, to the extent that a freight pipeline reduces the truck traffic, it helps to reduce street congestion, noise, energy consumption, accidents, and air pollution. As compared to rail, however, accident and noise reduction are certain, but the impact on energy consumption and air pollution depends on local conditions. (MCW) Document type: Report