scholarly journals University Operations During a Pandemic: A Flexible Decision Analysis Toolkit

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Himanshu Kharkwal ◽  
Dakota Olson ◽  
Jiali Huang ◽  
Abhiraj Mohan ◽  
Ankur Mani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Contact ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
Contact Modeling ◽  
Flexible Tool ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
The University ◽  
Simulation Parameters ◽  
The Impact

Modeling infection spread during pandemics is not new, with models using past data to tune simulation parameters for predictions. These help in understanding of the healthcare burden posed by a pandemic and responding accordingly. However, the problem of how college/university campuses should function during a pandemic is new for the following reasons: (i) social contact in colleges are structured and can be engineered for chosen objectives; (ii) the last pandemic to cause such societal disruption was more than 100 years ago, when higher education was not a critical part of society; (iii) not much was known about causes of pandemics, and hence effective ways of safe operations were not known; and (iv) today with distance learning, remote operation of an academic institution is possible. As one of the first to address this problem, our approach is unique in presenting a flexible simulation system, containing a suite of model libraries, one for each major component. The system integrates agent-based modeling and the stochastic network approach, and models the interactions among individual entities (e.g., students, instructors, classrooms, residences) in great detail. For each decision to be made, the system can be used to predict the impact of various choices, and thus enables the administrator to make informed decisions. Although current approaches are good for infection modeling, they lack accuracy in social contact modeling. Our agent-based modeling approach, combined with ideas from Network Science, presents a novel approach to contact modeling. A detailed case study of the University of Minnesota’s Sunrise Plan is presented. For each decision made, its impact was assessed, and results were used to get a measure of confidence. We believe that this flexible tool can be a valuable asset for various kinds of organizations to assess their infection risks in pandemic-time operations, including middle and high schools, factories, warehouses, and small/medium-sized businesses.

Post-occupancy evaluation of outdoor spaces on the campus of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Clara Carvalho Tourinho ◽  
Sabrina Andrade Barbosa ◽  
Özgür Göçer ◽  
Klaus Chaves Alberto
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
Post Occupancy Evaluation ◽  
Outdoor Spaces ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeUsing the campus of a Brazilian university as case study, this research aims to identify which aspects of the outdoor spaces are the most significant in attracting people.Design/methodology/approachThis research relies on the application of different post-occupancy evaluation (POE) methods, including user tracking, behavioural mapping and questionnaires, on one plateau of the campus.FindingsThree group of aspects (socialization, proximity and infrastructure) were identified as key elements in explaining the impact of the campus physical characteristics on users’ behaviour. The results indicate that having characteristics of at least one group of aspects in those spaces can guarantee their vitality and, if there is presence of attributes of more than one group, liveliness can be increased.Research limitations/implicationsFurther studies should be conducted on an entire campus to identify other spatial elements in the three groups.Practical implicationsThis research contributes to the planning of future campuses and to solutions to the existed ones, indicating the most relevant spatial characteristics to be considered. Additionally, the combination of different methods may be useful to future research.Originality/valueMost of the investigations on the university campuses focus on the buildings, and little research has investigated the outdoor spaces, although they play a critical role in learning and academic life, where people establish social, cultural and personal relationships. In addition, studies using several POE allowed a consistent and complete diagnostic about the aspects of the campus, giving recommendations for future projects.

traffic, urban

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Poehler
Keyword(s):  
Urban Environments ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
Urban Traffic ◽  
Literary Analysis ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Formal Systems ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Ancient People ◽  
Object Of Study ◽  
The Impact

The movement of people, animals, and vehicles through the ancient urban environment had a significant impact on the shape of ancient cities, but as an object of study, urban traffic is a relatively recent area of interest, one that has tended to focus on the Roman world. The range of methods available to consider the topic, however, are relatively many, including literary analysis, archaeological field survey, and a battery of technical methods, such as Space Syntax, Network Analysis, and Agent-Based Modeling. In all of these approaches, two models of movement—pedestrian and vehicular—remain paramount. The results of studying urban traffic have shed new light on the impact of different forms of urban design, the ways in which ancient people navigated those designs, and norms and formal systems in place in urban environments to order the movement of people and vehicles.

A Novel Approach to Multihazard Modeling and Simulation

2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silas W. Smith ◽  
Ian Portelli ◽  
Giuseppe Narzisi ◽  
Lewis S. Nelson ◽  
Fabian Menges ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Injury Severity ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
Psychosocial Characteristics ◽  
Disaster Plan ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Information System Architecture ◽  
Modeling Approach ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Systemic Stress

ABSTRACTObjective: To develop and apply a novel modeling approach to support medical and public health disaster planning and response using a sarin release scenario in a metropolitan environment.Methods: An agent-based disaster simulation model was developed incorporating the principles of dose response, surge response, and psychosocial characteristics superimposed on topographically accurate geographic information system architecture. The modeling scenarios involved passive and active releases of sarin in multiple transportation hubs in a metropolitan city. Parameters evaluated included emergency medical services, hospital surge capacity (including implementation of disaster plan), and behavioral and psychosocial characteristics of the victims.Results: In passive sarin release scenarios of 5 to 15 L, mortality increased nonlinearly from 0.13% to 8.69%, reaching 55.4% with active dispersion, reflecting higher initial doses. Cumulative mortality rates from releases in 1 to 3 major transportation hubs similarly increased nonlinearly as a function of dose and systemic stress. The increase in mortality rate was most pronounced in the 80% to 100% emergency department occupancy range, analogous to the previously observed queuing phenomenon. Effective implementation of hospital disaster plans decreased mortality and injury severity. Decreasing ambulance response time and increasing available responding units reduced mortality among potentially salvageable patients. Adverse psychosocial characteristics (excess worry and low compliance) increased demands on health care resources. Transfer to alternative urban sites was possible.Conclusions: An agent-based modeling approach provides a mechanism to assess complex individual and systemwide effects in rare events. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2009;3:75–87)

Influence of the Chinese Government Subsidy Policies on Supply Chain Members’ Profits: An Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation Approach

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 623-632
Author(s):  
Ran Zhang ◽  
◽  
Jie Lin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Modeling And Simulation ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Chain Model ◽  
Government Subsidy ◽  
Demand Model ◽  
Profit Model ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
The Impact

The series of subsidy policies launched by the Chinese government has affected supply chain members’ profits distribution. To explore this influence, an agent-based model was designed, and experiments were conducted under different subsidy levels. Our model focused on the ordinary business entities and their activities in the supply chain. By investigating the real world and other researchers’ studies, agent simulation class library (e.g., control agents, cooperation/collaboration agents, and fractal simulation agents) and their decision knowledge bases were designed to simulate the supply chain members’ behaviors, decision processes, and operation and production activities and behaviors. Price model, demand model and profit model under the subsidy were built to evaluate the supply chain members’ profits under different subsidy scenarios. Finally, a multi-echelon appliance supply chain model was constructed, and experiments were performed with different levels of subsidy limit. Results showed that the supply chain members’ profits increased under the government subsidy policy. The agent-based modeling and simulation method provides a novel approach to explore the impact on profit distribution.

Agent-based modeling for the self-management of chronic diseases: An exploratory study

SIMULATION ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 93 (9) ◽  
pp. 781-793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Montagna ◽  
Andrea Omicini
Keyword(s):  
Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
Type 1 Diabetes ◽  
Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
The Impact

The impact of mobile technologies on healthcare is particularly evident in the case of self-management of chronic diseases, where they can decrease spending and improve life quality of patients. We propose the adoption of agent-based modeling and simulation techniques as built-in tools to dynamically monitor the state of patient health and provide recommendations for self-management. To demonstrate the feasibility of our proposal we focus on Type 1 diabetes mellitus as our case study, and provide simulation results where the dynamic evolution of signal parameters is shown in the case of healthy and Type 1 diabetes mellitus patients, focussing in particular on the beneficial effects that self-management interventions have on plasma glucose values.

scholarly journals Investigations of agent-based modelling for inpatient healthcare systems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amirkiarash Kiani
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Recovery Time ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Patient Acuity ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Agent Based Modelling ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Research Plan ◽  
The Impact

The goal of this research was to investigate the possibility of using Agent-based Modelling, a novel approach in computerized simulation, to assess the effects of staff ratio on recovery time and to develop an empirical research plan based on an inpatient unit. By creating a virtual unit, the researcher was able to develop an adjustable model to test several scenarios based on empirical evidence; to comprehend the impact of changes to staff ratio and patient acuity on nurses’ workload and quality of care to patients. This investigation found that acuity indices of patients have no significant effect on available recovery time or the number of unperformed activities. On the contrary, nurse/patient ratio has substantial effects on both available recovery time and the number of unperformed activities; which asserts the significant effect of insufficient nurse staffing on the well-being of nurses as well as quality of care to patients.

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