scholarly journals AN EX-ANTE ASSESSMENT OF CITY DISTRIBUTION ALTERNATIVES BASED ON MULTI ACTOR MULTI CRITERIA FRAMEWORK

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 4241-4272
Author(s):  
Türkan Müge ÖZBEKLER ◽  
Arzu KARAMAN AKGÜL
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Noise Pollution ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Distribution Networks ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Negative Externalities ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Load Factors ◽  
Ex Ante ◽  
Urban Consolidation

Recently, urban areas face challenges that result from negative externalities of traditional distribution networks. Especially, city actors increasingly suffer from issues as inefficient load factors in operations, traffic volume on roads, and noise pollution. To overcome these problems, modern city distribution patterns integrated with the consolidation strategy have the potential to provide satisfying solutions. Align with city actors’ expectations, alternatives of consolidation-distribution schemes can offer improvements in both economic, social, and environmental issues. In particular, this study aims at an ex-ante evaluation of city distribution alternatives on the typology of consolidation-distribution schemes ensuring win-win solutions to each city actor. This paper adopts Multi Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis (MAMCA) as a novel approach to evaluating different city actors’ objectives and a set of city distribution alternatives comprehensively. The paper results highlight that micro consolidation centre facilities can be more suitable in response to city actors’ expectations among distribution alternatives to urban consolidation centre and mobile depot. Finally, future research in this topic can focus on evaluating distribution alternatives on a sector basis and marketing types such as B2B and B2C.  

Fields of spatial research on urban areas in the context of organisational solutions to new forms of transportation

2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-60
Author(s):  
Bartosz Czarnecki
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Transportation System ◽  
Present Knowledge ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Use Of Self ◽  
Large Share ◽  
Main Achievement ◽  
Self Driving Cars

Abstract The paper discusses the spatial consequences of the widespread use of self-driving cars and the resulting changes in the structure of urban areas. Analysing present knowledge on the technology, functionality and future forms of organisation of mobility with this type of means of transportation, conclusions are presented concerning the expected changes in the organisation of space in urban areas. The main achievement of the investigation is an outline of the fields of future research on the spatial consequences of a transportation system with a large share of self-driving cars.

scholarly journals A Review on Thermal Energy Modelling for Optimal Microgrids Management

Thermo ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-76
Author(s):  
Mengxuan Yan ◽  
Dongxiao Wang ◽  
Chun Sing Lai ◽  
Loi Lei Lai
Keyword(s):  
Energy Management ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Distribution Networks ◽  
Energy Resources ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Renewable Energy Resources ◽  
Energy Modelling ◽  
Microgrid Energy Management ◽  
Combined Cooling

Microgrids have become increasingly popular in recent years due to technological improvements, growing recognition of their benefits, and diminishing costs. By clustering distributed energy resources, microgrids can effectively integrate renewable energy resources in distribution networks and satisfy end-user demands, thus playing a critical role in transforming the existing power grid to a future smart grid. There are many existing research and review works on microgrids. However, the thermal energy modelling in optimal microgrid management is seldom discussed in the current literature. To address this research gap, this paper presents a detailed review on the thermal energy modelling application on the optimal energy management for microgrids. This review firstly presents microgrid characteristics. Afterwards, the existing thermal energy modeling utilized in microgrids will be discussed, including the application of a combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) and thermal comfort model to form virtual energy storage systems. Current trial programs of thermal energy modelling for microgrid energy management are analyzed and some challenges and future research directions are discussed at the end. This paper serves as a comprehensive review to the most up-to-date thermal energy modelling applications on microgrid energy management.

scholarly journals Perceived and objective availability of green and blue spaces and quality of life in people with dementia: results from the IDEAL programme

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Tzu Wu ◽  
◽  
Linda Clare ◽  
Ian Rees Jones ◽  
Sharon M. Nelis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Deprivation Level ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Interaction Terms ◽  
Perceived Availability ◽  
People With Dementia

Abstract Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between quality of life and both perceived and objective availability of local green and blue spaces in people with dementia, including potential variation across rural/urban settings and those with/without opportunities to go outdoors. Methods This study was based on 1540 community-dwelling people with dementia in the Improving the experience of Dementia and Enhancing Active Life (IDEAL) programme. Quality of life was measured by the Quality of Life in Alzheimer’s Disease (QoL-AD) scale. A list of 12 types of green and blue spaces was used to measure perceived availability while objective availability was estimated using geographic information system data. Regression modelling was employed to investigate the associations of quality of life with perceived and objective availability of green and blue spaces, adjusting for individual factors and deprivation level. Interaction terms with rural/urban areas or opportunities to go outdoors were fitted to test whether the associations differed across these subgroups. Results Higher QoL-AD scores were associated with higher perceived availability of local green and blue spaces (0.82; 95% CI 0.06, 1.58) but not objective availability. The positive association between perceived availability and quality of life was stronger for urban (1.50; 95% CI 0.52, 2.48) than rural residents but did not differ between participants with and without opportunities to go outdoors. Conclusions Only perceived availability was related to quality of life in people with dementia. Future research may investigate how people with dementia utilise green and blue spaces and improve dementia-friendliness of these spaces.

scholarly journals Clustering Techniques for Secondary Substations Siting

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1028
Author(s):  
Silvia Corigliano ◽  
Federico Rosato ◽  
Carla Ortiz Dominguez ◽  
Marco Merlo
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Distribution Networks ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Agglomerative Clustering ◽  
Clustering Techniques ◽  
Hierarchical Agglomerative Clustering ◽  
Efficient Planning ◽  
Target Set

The scientific community is active in developing new models and methods to help reach the ambitious target set by UN SDGs7: universal access to electricity by 2030. Efficient planning of distribution networks is a complex and multivariate task, which is usually split into multiple subproblems to reduce the number of variables. The present work addresses the problem of optimal secondary substation siting, by means of different clustering techniques. In contrast with the majority of approaches found in the literature, which are devoted to the planning of MV grids in already electrified urban areas, this work focuses on greenfield planning in rural areas. K-means algorithm, hierarchical agglomerative clustering, and a method based on optimal weighted tree partitioning are adapted to the problem and run on two real case studies, with different population densities. The algorithms are compared in terms of different indicators useful to assess the feasibility of the solutions found. The algorithms have proven to be effective in addressing some of the crucial aspects of substations siting and to constitute relevant improvements to the classic K-means approach found in the literature. However, it is found that it is very challenging to conjugate an acceptable geographical span of the area served by a single substation with a substation power high enough to justify the installation when the load density is very low. In other words, well known standards adopted in industrialized countries do not fit with developing countries’ requirements.

Gender budgeting in public financial management: a literature review and research agenda

2021 ◽  
pp. 002085232110317
Author(s):  
Tobias Polzer ◽  
Isabella M Nolte ◽  
Johann Seiwald
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Ex Ante ◽  
Need To Evaluate ◽  
Gender Budgeting

Gender budgeting calls for including a gender perspective at all levels of governmental budgetary processes. While the literature on gender budgeting is interdisciplinary and covers a wide geographical range, it remains fragmented. This study uses a literature review to examine the current discourse on gender budgeting and to elicit avenues for future research. Our review shows that studies focus either on emerging economies, such as India or South Africa, or on countries in Europe. Drawing on an analytical framework, we find that most studies scrutinize the ex ante stages of gender budgeting, whereas less is known about the concurrent and ex post stages. Moreover, because little is known about the outcome and impact of gender budgeting, governments do not know what instruments function best in different settings. Given their ex ante focus, most studies on gender budgeting often either remain descriptive or analyse secondary data. Despite scholars from different disciplines contributing to the field of gender budgeting, several ‘blank spots’ remain, particularly in public sector accounting. Points for practitioners While current gender budgeting projects tend to focus on the ex ante stage of gender budgeting, future practitioner attention needs to focus on the equally important concurrent and ex post stages, which have received less attention thus far. An increasing number of governments worldwide are implementing gender budgeting projects. Governments need to evaluate the outcome and impact of these projects in a timely fashion, aiming at reducing structural inequalities related to gender. Gender budgeting is willingly adopted in times of prosperity and stability or when the scope of projects appears manageable. To avoid negative impacts on their achievements, policy makers need to put gender budgeting on the political agenda and institutionalize it in times of instability and crisis.

scholarly journals Annoyance evaluation of noise emitted by urban substation

2021 ◽  
pp. 146134842110143
Author(s):  
Li Jun ◽  
Li Li ◽  
Zhang Yongxiang ◽  
Chu Zhigang ◽  
Fan Xiaopeng
Keyword(s):  
Regression Model ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Subjective Evaluation ◽  
Noise Pollution ◽  
Objective Evaluation ◽  
Semantic Differential ◽  
Differential Method ◽  
Practical Application ◽  
Noise Evaluation ◽  
Objective And Subjective Evaluation

In China, noise pollution from substations in urban areas is becoming more and more serious. An annoyance evaluation of the noise emitted by urban substations is presented. First, the subjective evaluation is conducted on the noise samples from urban substations via the semantic differential method. Subsequently, according to the typical characteristics of urban substation noise, 14 acoustical metrics are used to describe the noise samples for objective evaluation. Then the correlation analysis and regression analysis between the objective and subjective evaluation results are carried out. Finally, a regression model for urban substation noise evaluation is established. Practical application shows that the regression model can correctly predict the subjective annoyance of urban substation noise.

scholarly journals Constrained Urban Airspace Design for Large-Scale Drone-Based Delivery Traffic

Aerospace ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Malik Doole ◽  
Joost Ellerbroek ◽  
Victor L. Knoop ◽  
Jacco M. Hoekstra
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Congestion ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Fast Time ◽  
Potential Cost ◽  
Horizontal Structure ◽  
Traffic Demand ◽  
Demand Patterns

Large-scale adoption of drone-based delivery in urban areas promise societal benefits with respect to emissions and on-ground traffic congestion, as well as potential cost savings for drone-based logistic companies. However, for this to materialise, the ability of accommodating high volumes of drone traffic in an urban airspace is one of the biggest challenges. For unconstrained airspace, it has been shown that traffic alignment and segmentation can be used to mitigate conflict probability. The current study investigates the application of these principles to a highly constrained airspace. We propose two urban airspace concepts, applying road-based analogies of two-way and one-way streets by imposing horizontal structure. Both of the airspace concepts employ heading-altitude rules to vertically segment cruising traffic according to their travel direction. These airspace configurations also feature transition altitudes to accommodate turning flights that need to decrease the flight speed in order to make safe turns at intersections. While using fast-time simulation experiments, the performance of these airspace concepts is compared and evaluated for multiple traffic demand densities in terms of safety, stability, and efficiency. The results reveal that an effective way to structure drone traffic in a constrained urban area is to have vertically segmented altitude layers with respect to travel direction as well as horizontal constraints imposed to the flow of traffic. The study also makes recommendations for areas of future research, which are aimed at supporting dynamic traffic demand patterns.

scholarly journals Analysis of High-Friction Surface Texture with Respect to Friction and Wear

Coatings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 758
Author(s):  
Cibi Pranav ◽  
Minh-Tan Do ◽  
Yi-Chang Tsai
Keyword(s):  
Friction Coefficient ◽  
Surface Texture ◽  
Safety Concern ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Scanning System ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Texture Parameters ◽  
Aggregate Loss ◽  
Friction Surfaces ◽  
The Impact

High Friction Surfaces (HFS) are applied to increase friction capacity on critical roadway sections, such as horizontal curves. HFS friction deterioration on these sections is a safety concern. This study deals with characterization of the aggregate loss, one of the main failure mechanisms of HFS, using texture parameters to study its relationship with friction. Tests are conducted on selected HFS spots with different aggregate loss severity levels at the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) Test Track. Friction tests are performed using a Dynamic Friction Tester (DFT). The surface texture is measured by means of a high-resolution 3D pavement scanning system (0.025 mm vertical resolution). Texture data are processed and analyzed by means of the MountainsMap software. The correlations between the DFT friction coefficient and the texture parameters confirm the impact of change in aggregates’ characteristics (including height, shape, and material volume) on friction. A novel approach to detect the HFS friction coefficient transition based on aggregate loss, inspired by previous works on the tribology of coatings, is proposed. Using the proposed approach, preliminary outcomes show it is possible to observe the rapid friction coefficient transition, similar to observations at NCAT. Perspectives for future research are presented and discussed.

scholarly journals A New Model Averaging Approach in Predicting Credit Risk Default

Risks ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 114
Author(s):  
Paritosh Navinchandra Jha ◽  
Marco Cucculelli
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Credit Risk ◽  
Model Averaging ◽  
Research Direction ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Classification Problems ◽  
Average Technique ◽  
Model Average ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Unbalanced Dataset

The paper introduces a novel approach to ensemble modeling as a weighted model average technique. The proposed idea is prudent, simple to understand, and easy to implement compared to the Bayesian and frequentist approach. The paper provides both theoretical and empirical contributions for assessing credit risk (probability of default) effectively in a new way by creating an ensemble model as a weighted linear combination of machine learning models. The idea can be generalized to any classification problems in other domains where ensemble-type modeling is a subject of interest and is not limited to an unbalanced dataset or credit risk assessment. The results suggest a better forecasting performance compared to the single best well-known machine learning of parametric, non-parametric, and other ensemble models. The scope of our approach can be extended to any further improvement in estimating weights differently that may be beneficial to enhance the performance of the model average as a future research direction.

scholarly journals Can Blockchain Strengthen the Energy Internet?

Network ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-115
Author(s):  
Charithri Yapa ◽  
Chamitha de Alwis ◽  
Madhusanka Liyanage
Keyword(s):  
Distributed Generation ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Distribution Networks ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Disruptive Technology ◽  
Electricity Distribution ◽  
Energy Internet ◽  
Energy Delivery ◽  
Electricity Grids

Emergence of the Energy Internet (EI) demands restructuring of traditional electricity grids to integrate heterogeneous energy sources, distribution network management with grid intelligence and big data management. This paradigm shift is considered to be a breakthrough in the energy industry towards facilitating autonomous and decentralized grid operations while maximizing the utilization of Distributed Generation (DG). Blockchain has been identified as a disruptive technology enabler for the realization of EI to facilitate reliable, self-operated energy delivery. In this paper, we highlight six key directions towards utilizing blockchain capabilities to realize the envisaged EI. We elaborate the challenges in each direction and highlight the role of blockchain in addressing them. Furthermore, we summarize the future research directive in achieving fully autonomous and decentralized electricity distribution networks, which will be known as Energy Internet.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document