Abstract

As media education concepts and practices have been disseminated and strengthened in European countries and Americas, the policies responsible for that expansion remain little known, particularly in countries where the achievements have been recently noted. That is the case for Brazil, where there have been new opportunities for media education, considered as a valuable resource to help accomplish goals of the educational system. This paper looks into the contribution of media education to the enhancement of teaching and learning in the context of innovations brought by recent policies of the Brazilian Ministry of Education. After educational reform programmes which brought the opportunity for emerging fields such as media education, we produced teaching material and conducted a series of workshops with students and teachers from state secondary schools. By reading and producing multimedia information about local public services available to young people, pupils learned about democracy, citizenship, civic engagement, media language, and identity. Lessons from our experiment are discussed against the backdrop of education policies being implemented to ameliorate harsh conditions resulting from the recent economic crisis. We suggest that media education can help by creating a learning environment in which the students become aware of the value of educational attainments.

Abstract

Global socio-economic and environmental megatrends are urging for a paradigm shift in mobility and transport. An action plan for the coherent implementation of innovative transport and mobility solutions in Europe is thus urgently needed and should be sustained by a wide range of societal stakeholders. The MOBILITY4EU project is working on developing such an action plan considering all modes of transport of passengers and freight. This contribution details the methodology and the results on trends, solutions and opportunities for cross-modal and cross-sector collaboration. The initiative towards a European Transport and Mobility Forum that continues the work beyond the project duration and works on complementing the action plan is introduced.

Abstract

TriControl is a controller working position (CWP) prototype developed by German Aerospace Center (DLR) to enable more natural, efficient, and faster command inputs. The prototype integrates three input modalities: speech recognition, eye tracking, and multi-touch sensing. Air traffic controllers may use all three modalities simultaneously to build commands that will be forwarded to the pilot and to the air traffic management (ATM) system. This paper evaluates possible speed improvements of TriControl compared to conventional systems involving voice transmission and manual data entry. 26 air traffic controllers participated in one of two air traffic control simulation sub-studies, one with each input system. Results show potential of a 15% speed gain for multimodal controller command input in contrast to conventional inputs. Thus, the use and combination of modern human machine interface (HMI) technologies at the CWP can increase controller productivity. Document type: Article

Abstract

SYNCHRO-NET is a Horizon 2020 European research project that aims to overcome the stress due to increasing transportation distances, higher complexity, and vulnerability of supply chains. The core of the SYNCHRO-NET solution is an integrated optimisation and simulation eco-NET system that supports stakeholders’ decisions in the transport of goods at strategic and operational levels. In particular, the system enables stakeholders to identify improvement opportunities by quickly analysing and calculating the impacts and benefits of slow/smart steaming and synchro-modality so to enhance sustainability, quality, and reliability. Three case studies considering pan-European and regional trade lanes, as well as commercial activities between Far East and European ports, prove the efficiency and effectiveness of the overall system.

Abstract

"jats:p"As issued in the Competition Policy Brief on the new state aid rules for a competitive aviation industry by the Competition Directorate-General of the European Commission in February 2014"jats:sup"1"/jats:sup", it will be more difficult for unprofitable airports, to obtain financial public subsidies on EU, national or regional level. Although the positive impact of small airports on the regional development and general accessibility was mentioned, still the operating aid to the airports shall be cut out over a maximum of 10 years. It has been further stated that the vast majority of small and regional airports experience problems to cover their running operative costs, as a result from an intensive market competition and overlapping of airports’ catchment areas preventing even some promising airports from growth. Public subsidies are mostly used by the airport management for infrastructural investments, to cover operating losses or to attract price-sensitive airlines. Herewith, among other things, the EU Commission is pointing out at the lack of cooperation structures and network strategies among the regional airports and at rather isolated and individual approach during elaboration of the airport development scenarios. However, the Competition Policy Brief permits public aid to regional airports, among other things if there is sufficient transports need to establish transition periods for small airports; the need for more flexibility of the regional airports in the remote areas has been underlined. The EU Commission is expecting herewith not to close the regional airports, but to stimulate them to operate on cost efficient and profitable basis, and that only the most inefficient airports will be closed. "/jats:p" "jats:p"To cope with the upcoming challenges the regional airports are demanded now to revaluate and reconsider their future development plans. While focusing on the passenger traffic many regional airports ignore or underestimate the benefits of the airfreight market. Although the air cargo has rather a low volume, but very high revenue yield part. Business internationalization is one of the important driving forces for the airfreight nowadays as well as decreasing air transport costs due to improving efficiency and growing competition among the air carriers. Most regional airports in the Baltic Sea region that act totally isolated, do not have a clear picture of the current situation on the international air cargo market, its future perspectives and sustainable development plans. Trying to meet the market demand, the regional airports are making huge and unjustified investments, e.g. improving airport infrastructure. It is not clear till now which elements of the Pan-Baltic cargo market could be managed as an alternative revenue yielding services for consolidated operation by air or what infrastructure is needed to provide the opportunity for an optimal economic mix of road-rail-air-sea transport? Nowadays, to a large degree air cargo traffic relies on scheduled, frequent passenger services in hub-and-spoke as well as in point-to-point traffic. Regional airports are presently suffering from a lack of scheduled uplift capacity. The volume currently transported by air in the regional airports is almost entirely based on the occasional charter flights. However, the growth of the air cargo business is likely to be based not only on cargo charters, but to a larger extend on truck-based services for transit shipments. Onward transportation by truck may occur on road feeder service, so called “flying trucks”, where a real truck substitutes a flight. “Flying trucks” are having flight numbers etc., therefore they must be prioritized in many ways in the BSR transport policy. "/jats:p" "jats:p"This paper investigates the role of Road Feeder Services concept (thereafter named here as “Flying Truck”) as an optional freight value proposition for the development of the regional airports and their possible participation in the air cargo market as a supplement instrument to generate additional revenue, thus making the airports more profitable and attractive. Document type: Article

Abstract

The evolution of the WWW and the introduction of new portable devices are creating a ubiquitous environment in which users can be permanently connected to the Net. In this environment and with the screen-size limitations of current devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, pdas, notebooks or others, studies and research on methods for folding and unfolding information and interaction in very small spaces are becoming very important. To overcome spatial limitations, the interfaces are designed to be less rigid and static, with various systems of offering ad-hoc options depending on the action desired by the user at any given time. Some significant interfaces in this regard are the Photoshop Toolbar, Office Ribbon, Search Command from Office Labs, or Ubiquity from Mozilla Labs. The extrapolation of these interfaces is proposed for a redesign of the current Google home page, noting the opportunity to use the search box as the starting point and basis for the development of new operating systems that are ubiquitous, multimodal and multi-device.

Abstract

ddis Ababa, with an area of 540 km2 and with population of 3.1 million people is experiencing a rapid pace of socio-economic and physical transformation. The city is not only the political, commercial, economic and financial hub of the country but also an international city serving as the seat of the African Union and various international organizations. Alike many African Cities, Addis Ababa has been undergoing a high rate of urbanization. This process of rapid urbanization has resulted in the increase in the size of the population and the physical expansion of the city. As a consequence, travel demand and length of the trip are increasing. Transportation plays a key role in determining the socioeconomic development and shaping the spatial development framework of the city. Equally important, transportation as derived demand is also a fundamental means for residents to fulfill their various activities. In Addis Ababa motorization, although on the increase, is low and public transportation is the most important mode of motorized mobility for the large majority of the city’s population. There are various formal and informal operators of the public transport mainly operating on individual basis. It is estimated that there are over 18,000 public transport vehicles that are daily running in Addis Ababa, most of them low capacity vehicles. Despite its importance, the public transport sector not only suffers from shortage, insufficient capital investment, and until recently lack of clear governmental policy and leadership but also from the absence of integrated approach to its operation, planning and management.Many cities in the North have embarked on integrating the provision of public transportation for nearly half a century now. In these cities, integration in public transportation has been recommended as a viable instrument for providing high quality and seamless urban transport and enhancing sustainable urban development. African cities which are characterized by their high urbanization rate, low level of private car ownership, deficient public transportation system and significant financial constraints lack public transportation integration experiences. The question is then ‘how do African cities replicate and implement public transport integration practices?’ that have been originally developed for the Cities of the North. The thesis attempts to answer this question and analyses the different forms of public transport integration. It then proposes a framework for implementing integrated public transport as a sustainable means of urban mobility in Addis Ababa.; Addis-Abeba, qui s’étend sur 540 km2 et compte 3,1 millions d’habitants, connait aujourd’hui des transformations socio-économiques et spatiales rapides. Elle n’est pas seulement le coeur politique, commercial, économique et financier du pays mais aussi une ville internationale accueillant le siège de l’Union africaine et d’autres institutions internationales. Comme d’autres villes africaines, elle connait un rythme élevé d’urbanisation. Ce processus a impliqué la croissance du nombre d’habitants mais aussi une extension spatiale accrue. En conséquence, la demande de déplacements et la longueur des parcours ont augmenté. Le transport joue ainsi un rôle clé, pesant sur le développement socio-économique et la configuration de l’espace urbain. Tout aussi important, en tant que demande dérivée, il joue sur la capacité des citadins à accomplir leurs diverses activités. La motorisation des ménages restant faible en dépit d’une lente progression, le transport public constitue le principal moyen d’accès à une mobilité motorisée pour la majorité de la population. L’offre est constituée d’une multitude d’opérateurs formels et informels, travaillant selon un schéma artisanal. On estime à plus de 18 000 les véhicules de transport public, la plupart de faible capacité, qui parcourent chaque jour les rues d’Addis-Abeba. En dépit de son importance, le transport public souffre de capacités d’investissement insuffisantes ainsi que, jusqu’à récemment, du manque d’une politique publique claire et affirmée. Il pâtit également de l’absence d’une approche intégrée, pour sa planification, sa gestion et sa mise en oeuvre. De nombreuses villes du Nord, parfois depuis près d’un demi-siècle, ont choisi de construire un service intégré de transport public. L’intégration y est vue comme un outil viable pour offrir un transport urbain de haute qualité et « sans couture », permettant un développement urbain durable. Par contre, les villes africaines, caractérisées par une urbanisation rapide, des taux d’équipement automobile faibles, un système de transport public déficient et des contraintes financières majeures manquent de telles expériences d’intégration du transport public. Notre question est donc : « Comment les villes africaines peuvent-elles reproduire et mettre en oeuvre des politiques d’intégration du transport public ? », originellement développées dans les villes du Nord. La thèse essaie d’apporter des éléments de réponse à cette question. Elle s’appuie sur une analyse des différentes formes d’intégration du transport public. Puis elle propose un schéma de conception et de mise en oeuvre d’un système de transport public intégré, appréhendé comme un outil de mobilité urbaine durable pour Addis-Abeba.