Geographic delay characterization of railway systems

AbstractRailway systems provide pivotal support to modern societies, making their efficiency and robustness important to ensure. However, these systems are susceptible to disruptions and delays, leading to accumulating economic damage. The large spatial scale of delay spreading typically make it difficult to distinguish which regions will ultimately affected from an initial disruption, creating uncertainty for risk assessment. In this paper, we identify geographical structures that reflect how delay spreads through railway networks. We do so by proposing a graph-based, hybrid schedule and empirical-based model for delay propagation and apply spectral clustering. We apply the model to four European railway systems: the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. We characterize these geographical delay structures in the railway systems of these countries and interpret these regions in terms of delay severity and how dynamically disconnected they are from the rest. The method also allows us to point out important differences between these countries’ railway systems. For practitioners, such geographical characterization of railways provides natural boundaries for local decision-making structures and risk assessment.

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The Veil of Bureaucracy: How Officials Evade Partisan Politics in Participatory Settings

Social Currents ◽

10.1177/23294965211028846 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 232949652110288

Author(s):

Meaghan Stiman

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Political Ideology ◽

Partisan Politics ◽

Community Voice ◽

Political Debates ◽

Local Decision ◽

Decision Making Processes ◽

The Veil ◽

Local Decision Making ◽

Do So

In theory, participatory democracies are thought to empower citizens in local decision-making processes. However, in practice, community voice is rarely representative, and even in cases of equal representation, citizens are often disempowered through bureaucratic processes. Drawing on the case of a firearm discharge debate from a rural county’s municipal meetings in Virginia, I extend research about how power operates in participatory settings. Partisan political ideology fueled the debate amongst constituents in expected ways, wherein citizens engaged collectivist and individualist frames to sway the county municipal board ( Celinska 2007 ). However, it was a third frame that ultimately explains the ordinance’s repeal: the bureaucratic frame, an ideological orientation to participatory processes that defers decision-making to disembodied abstract rules and procedures. This frame derives its power from its depoliticization potential, allowing bureaucrats to evade contentious political debates. Whoever is best able to wield this frame not only depoliticizes the debate to gain rationalized legitimacy but can do so in such a way to favor a partisan agenda. This study advances gun research and participatory democracy research by analyzing how the bureaucratic frame, which veils partisanship, offers an alternative political possibility for elected officials, community leaders, and citizens to adjudicate partisan debates.

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How normative interpretations of climate risk assessment affect local decision-making: an exploratory study at the city scale in Cork, Ireland

Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society A Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences ◽

10.1098/rsta.2017.0300 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 376 (2121) ◽

pp. 20170300 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

T. K. J. McDermott ◽

S. Surminski

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Risk Assessment ◽

Decision Making ◽

Risk Management ◽

Flood Risk ◽

Flood Risk Management ◽

Climate Risk ◽

Local Decision ◽

Local Decision Making ◽

The City

Urban areas already suffer substantial losses in both economic and human terms from climate-related disasters. These losses are anticipated to grow substantially, in part as a result of the impacts of climate change. In this paper, we investigate the process of translating climate risk data into action for the city level. We apply a commonly used decision-framework as our backdrop and explore where in this process climate risk assessment and normative political judgements intersect. We use the case of flood risk management in Cork city in Ireland to investigate what is needed for translating risk assessment into action at the local city level. Evidence presented is based on focus group discussions at two stakeholder workshops, and a series of individual meetings and phone-discussions with stakeholders involved in local decision-making related to flood risk management and adaptation to climate change, in Ireland. Respondents were chosen on the basis of their expertise or involvement in the decision-making processes locally and nationally. Representatives of groups affected by flood risk and flood risk management and climate adaptation efforts were also included. The Cork example highlights that, despite ever more accurate data and an increasing range of theoretical approaches available to local decision-makers, it is the normative interpretation of this information that determines what action is taken. The use of risk assessments for decision-making is a process that requires normative decisions, such as setting ‘acceptable risk levels' and identifying ‘adequate’ protection levels, which will not succeed without broader buy-in and stakeholder participation. Identifying and embracing those normative views up-front could strengthen the urban adaptation process—this may, in fact, turn out to be the biggest advantage of climate risk assessment: it offers an opportunity to create a shared understanding of the problem and enables an informed evaluation and discussion of remedial action. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Advances in risk assessment for climate change adaptation policy’.

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Towards Reduced CNNs for De-Noising Phase Images Corrupted with Speckle Noise

Photonics ◽

10.3390/photonics8070255 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (7) ◽

pp. 255

Author(s):

Marie Tahon ◽

Silvio Montresor ◽

Pascal Picart

Keyword(s):

Phase Error ◽

Speckle Noise ◽

Experimental Conditions ◽

Benchmark Data ◽

Wide Range ◽

Phase Images ◽

Different Depths ◽

Phase Data ◽

Do So

Digital holography is a very efficient technique for 3D imaging and the characterization of changes at the surfaces of objects. However, during the process of holographic interferometry, the reconstructed phase images suffer from speckle noise. In this paper, de-noising is addressed with phase images corrupted with speckle noise. To do so, DnCNN residual networks with different depths were built and trained with various holographic noisy phase data. The possibility of using a network pre-trained on natural images with Gaussian noise is also investigated. All models are evaluated in terms of phase error with HOLODEEP benchmark data and with three unseen images corresponding to different experimental conditions. The best results are obtained using a network with only four convolutional blocks and trained with a wide range of noisy phase patterns.

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A Disease Control-Oriented Land Cover Land Use Map for Myanmar

Data ◽

10.3390/data6060063 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (6) ◽

pp. 63

Author(s):

Dong Chen ◽

Varada Shevade ◽

Allison Baer ◽

Jiaying He ◽

Amanda Hoffman-Hall ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Land Use ◽

Land Cover ◽

Population Distribution ◽

Large Spatial Scale ◽

The Public ◽

Spatial Coverage ◽

Vector Borne ◽

Do So ◽

Control And Eradication

Malaria is a serious infectious disease that leads to massive casualties globally. Myanmar is a key battleground for the global fight against malaria because it is where the emergence of drug-resistant malaria parasites has been documented. Controlling the spread of malaria in Myanmar thus carries global significance, because the failure to do so would lead to devastating consequences in vast areas where malaria is prevalent in tropical/subtropical regions around the world. Thanks to its wide and consistent spatial coverage, remote sensing has become increasingly used in the public health domain. Specifically, remote sensing-based land cover/land use (LCLU) maps present a powerful tool that provides critical information on population distribution and on the potential human-vector interactions interfaces on a large spatial scale. Here, we present a 30-meter LCLU map that was created specifically for the malaria control and eradication efforts in Myanmar. This bottom-up approach can be modified and customized to other vector-borne infectious diseases in Myanmar or other Southeastern Asian countries.

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Allocating HIV prevention resources: A tool for state and local decision making

Health Policy ◽

10.1016/j.healthpol.2008.01.008 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 87 (3) ◽

pp. 342-349 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Anke Richter ◽

Katherine A. Hicks ◽

Stephanie R. Earnshaw ◽

Amanda A. Honeycutt

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Hiv Prevention ◽

Local Decision ◽

State And Local ◽

Local Decision Making

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Characterization of arsenic-contaminated groundwater and human health risk assessment in Vietnam

Chinese Journal of Geochemistry ◽

10.1007/bf02839878 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 25 (S1) ◽

pp. 74-74

Author(s):

Van Anh Nguyen ◽

Sunbaek Bang ◽

Kyoung-Woong Kim

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

Health Risk ◽

Human Health ◽

Health Risk Assessment ◽

Human Health Risk ◽

Human Health Risk Assessment ◽

Contaminated Groundwater

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Characterization of Maximum Current Capacity for Microprocessor Sockets

Advances in Electronic Packaging, Parts A, B, and C ◽

10.1115/ipack2005-73035 ◽

2005 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

David Song ◽

Ashish Gupta ◽

Chia-Pin Chiu

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

Computational Modeling ◽

Carrying Capacity ◽

Infrared Camera ◽

Experimental Results ◽

Array Type ◽

Maximum Current ◽

Modeling And Experiments ◽

Subsequent Risk

This paper presents the current-carrying-capacity (CCC) characterization of a land-grid-array type microprocessor socket. This CCC study has been performed using both computational modeling and experiments using infrared camera. A subsequent risk assessment was performed against the maximum allowed temperature at the point of pressure contact of socket pin for the use-condition socket pin current and motherboard temperature. The results from the modeling and the experimental results are compared.

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Biochemical characterization of a cortexless mutant of a variant of Bacillus cereus

Canadian Journal of Microbiology ◽

10.1139/m76-147 ◽

1976 ◽

Vol 22 (7) ◽

pp. 1007-1012 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Susanne M. Pearce

Keyword(s):

Cell Wall ◽

Fatty Acid Composition ◽

Fatty Acid ◽

Bacillus Cereus ◽

Biochemical Characterization ◽

Diaminopimelic Acid ◽

Peptidoglycan Synthesis ◽

Biochemical Lesion ◽

Do So

Previous studies on this cortexless mutant of Bacillus cereus var. alesti indicated that the forespore membrane was the site of the biochemical lesion. This hypothesis is supported by the results presented here: fatty acid composition of sporulating cells of the mutant is altered, while in vegetative cells it is comparable to the parent; soluble precursors of peptidoglycan synthesis are accumulated in the mutant, at the time of cortex formation; homogenates of the mutant prepared at the time of cortex formation are unable to incorporate tritiated diaminopimelic acid into peptidoglycan, while homogenates of cells forming germ cell wall do so to an extent comparable to that of the parent; lipid-linked intermediates are formed by the mutant as in the parent. Apparently the mutant is unable either to transfer disaccharide penta-peptide units from the carrier lipid to the growing peptidoglycan acceptor, or to transport lipid-linked intermediates across the forespore membrane.

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