Use of IT tools in Road Management and Engineering Essays

Use of IT tools in Road Management and Engineering Essays Use of IT tools in Road Management and Engineering Essay Use of IT tools in Road Management and Engineering Essay The report presents the use of IT tools in the road management and engineering area. IT tools used in the road management and engineering area is the main approach worldwide. It can save time, cost, labor force and also perform some works that human may not be able to accomplish. HDMs of testing these two computer programmes were performed. They justify the validity of both computer programmes in the road management and engineering area. However, nothing is perfect and the computer programmes also have drawbacks which will be discussed in this report. Contents Page Abstract 1.0 Introduction 1 2.0 HDM-4 2-4 2.1 System Architecture 2 2.2 Road Management Function 2-4 2.2.1 Planning 3 2.2.2 Programming 3 2.2.3 Preparation 3 2.2.4 Operation 3-4 3.0 ARCADY 5 4 4.0 Test of HDM-4 and ARCADY 5 4-6 4.1 HDM-4 4-5 4.1.1 Results 5 4.2 ARCADY 5-6 4.2.1 Results 6 1.0 Introduction IT tools are widely used in many fields now. In the road management and engineering field, IT tools are especially vital and useful because road congestion and road accidents attribute billions of dollars in a country each year. For economical and environmental issues, uses of IT tools can efficiently reduce the social and economic loss due to the congestion and accidents, and mitigate the environmental impact from vehicles. The Highway Development and Management Tools (HDM-4) is a software system for investigating choices in investing in road transport infrastructure. It was developed on the basis of HDM-3. These choices may include developing new roads, improving existing roads, maintaining existing roads, introducing new vehicle technology and introducing new ways for funding and managing road assets. It will enable managers of road network assets to investigate the possibilities for providing cost-effective development and upkeep of their road system, which brings benefits to the communities that they serve. ARCADY is a popular computer programme for designing roundabouts in UK. It can design a new roundabout at an intersection; predict capacities, queue lengths, delays and accident risk at existing roundabouts. It is very important in road engineering for designing roundabouts quickly since time is very important in an engineering field. 2.0 HDM-4 HDM-4 is a decision support software system for assisting road managers to predict future economic, technical, social and environmental outcomes of possible investment decisions concerning road assets, and consider new development works, maintenance works and improvement works as possible investment choices and allow to consider investments on a single section of road, or a large network of road links (many sections), or any combination of road sections in a sub-network. For example, traffic volume and composition, deterioration of the road condition, the effect of works on road condition, the effect of the investment on vehicle emissions and the effect of condition and road works on road users, in terms of vehicle operating performance and costs, road user and cargo time delay and costs, accident rates and costs can be predicted. 2.1 System Architecture The HDM-4 technology can be integrated with present and future road management systems. It has been developed at three levels which are the knowledge and algorithms embodied in the modelling of technical, and economic performance of road infrastructure, the program modules which deliver the models in explicit terms, and the HDM-4 software, including the modelling modules, which provides the investment analysis and works programming functions (PIARC, 2000). The system architecture consists of a database, data managers, models and analysis tools. A database manages the input data and analysis results while data managers are software which provides the user interface and controls data. Models are software modules which reflect modeling algorithms, and analysis tools controls the system application (PIARC, 2000). 2.2 Road Management Functions The HDM-4 provides a powerful system for the analysis of road management and investment alternatives. The system can be applied to road management, programming road works, estimating funding requirements, budget allocations, predicting road network performance, project appraisal, policy impact studies and a wide range of special applications. 2.2.1 Planning HDM-4 can analyze the road system as a whole in medium to long term, or strategic, estimates of expenditure for road development and preservation under various budget and economic scenarios. Predictions can be made of road network conditions under different funding levels in terms of key indicators together with forecasts of required expenditure under defined budget. The results of the planning exercise are of most interest to senior policy makers in the roads sector in both political and professional means. The HDM-4 application in the planning level is always performed by strategy analysis. 2.2.2 Programming Programming involves the preparation of multi-year roadwork and expenditure programmes in which sections of the network needs maintenance, improvement or new construction, are selected and analyzed. Ideally, cost-benefit analysis should be undertaken to determine the economic feasibility of each set of works. The programming activity produces estimates of expenditure in each year, under defined budget, for different types of roadwork and for each road section. The HDM-4 application in the programming level is programming analysis. 2.2.3 Preparation This is the short-term planning stage where road schemes are packaged for implementation. At this stage, designs are refined and prepared in more details; bills of quantities and detailed costing are made, together with work instructions and contracts. Detailed specifications and costing are defined, and detailed cost-benefit analysis can be carried out to confirm the feasibility of the final scheme. The HDM-4 application in the preparation level is project analysis. 2.2.4 Operations Decisions about the management of operations are generally made on a daily or weekly basis, including the scheduling of work to be carried out, monitoring of labours, equipments and materials, the recording of work completed, and use of this information for monitoring and control. 3.0 ARCADY 5 ARCADY (Assessment of Roundabout Capacity and Delay) has been developed over the last 20 years by TRL (Transport Research Laboratory) and is used for predicting capacities, queue lengths, delays and accident risk at roundabouts. ARCADY is a user friendly and helpful tool to aid the busy traffic engineer in designing new roundabouts as well as assessing the effects of modifying existing designs. It can design a roundabout and predict the accident rates automatically within a short time. It can also avoid the iteration process by hand to save much time. Thus, ARCADY is very convenient and important in road engineering. ARCADY 5 is the most recent evolution of a program that has been successfully used to design and re-design thousands of roundabouts throughout the world. ARCADY 5s main platform is graphical under standard Windows* environment, which is common to many organizations including governments, multi-national organizations and universities. ARCADY is based on empirical relationships derived from the study of many UK roundabouts. The capacity relationships were established from a database covering 11,000 minutes of at capacity operation at 86 roundabout entries, and the accident prediction routine is based on 431 injury accidents at 84 roundabouts. Capacity and injury accident rates are linked directly to intersection geometry. The entire UK government, funded research programme, carried out at TRL, cost some and 7.5m or US$ 11.5m at todays values, and gives ARCADY robustness (TRL Software Bureau, 2003). 4.0 Test of HDM-4 and ARCADY-5 4.1 HDM-4 In the Highway Development and Management Series, Kerali (2000) presented an example of the analysis of HDM-4. The national road authority has drawn up a list of candidate road sections for periodic maintenance and improvement over the next three years in Western Province. The list of candidate road sections follows a review of pavement condition surveys carried out by consultants. There is a policy that the candidate projects are prioritized and selected for the maintenance programme in the three-year budget period. The objective of the task is to prioritize the candidates according to the economic benefits basis. The HDM-4 imports data from the Pavement Management System or use the HDM-4 Road Network manager to create the candidate road sections. It also defines the characteristics of the vehicles that use the road network and specify the traffic growth rates. The maintenance and improvement standards are assigned to the candidate road sections together with the unit costs. Afterwards, the road works can be determined. The unconstrained work programme results give the total funding required for the list of candidate road sections. Finally, HDM-4 can carry out the budget optimization to prioritize and select the short list of projects that can be carried out within the available budget. 4.1.1 Results The analyses indicate that the selected road sections for periodic maintenance and road improvement would require approximately US$11.345 million over the three year budget period. 4.2 ARCADY 5 ARCADY calculations can be applied to single island roundabouts with up to seven arm. The user has a choice of methods of entering traffic flows and the program can estimate the shape of the peak according to the amount of data available. The safety of a design can be tested using ARCADYs accident predictions. Accident prediction is available for all conventional and mini-roundabouts layouts. The program can be applied to single-island roundabouts with 3 to 7 arms and now mini-roundabouts. Both at-grade and grade-separated roundabouts can be modelled. Pedestrian crossings (zebra crossing type) can be included, and the queue lengths can be viewed, animated and printed. Roundabout capacity studies by Highways Agencys Compendium of Research from 1993 to 1996 with the project value of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½300,000 was carried out to check the continuing validity of the existing ARCADY relationships for conventional roundabouts and to derive capacity relationships for mini-roundabouts. The outputs were to be implemented in a new release of ARCADY incorporating both capacity and accident relationships for mini-roundabouts. It is 15 to 20 years since the capacity relationships used in the ARCADY computer program were established; corresponding capacity relationships for mini-roundabouts have never been separately determined. 4.2.1 Results The checks on capacities at conventional roundabouts have been found to be still valid (Highways Agencys Compendium of Research, 2003). Minor areas where further research work could give useful benefits have been identified. Related work on mini-roundabouts was brought to a successful conclusion. 5.0 Discussion The main approach of HDM-4 is usually biased to the economic approach because it is mainly applied in the network and program level which focus on the economic area. Therefore, it may not be very practical in real situation. For example, when evaluating the maintenance of a pavement in a long term period, it may estimate that the pavement only needs one major rehabilitation in the period. However, it is impractical to have a large funding for the rehabilitation in a short period such as one year. It may not be allowed in such a large amount such as millions of pounds in a year. Therefore, in practice, a major rehabilitation should be modified to several smaller ones around that period. It may be easier for funding in several times for several rehabilitations over a longer period. That shows planners or engineers must ensure the results obtained from HDM-4 practical in real before implementation because computer programmes can only give us the results under ideal conditions which are always impossible in our real world. Also, another drawback for the application of the HDM Model is the availability of adequate data. It is important that the highway agencies realize how critical it is to collect and process the required data in order to produce sound results. A specific budget should be assigned for this task if consistent and serious results are wanted. Collection of data is an expensive activity and it may not be possible for every road assets. ARCADY was justified to be still valid for different types of roundabouts. It can effectively assist highway engineers in assessing the existing roundabouts for safety or any possible improvement, and designing a new roundabout from an ordinary intersection in order to alleviate the heavy right turn movement. It also includes crash prediction model based on UK equation. The software is backed by TRL and thus the validity of it can be ensured by numbers of research. However, it required detailed knowledge of geometrics such as approach length, approach curvature and entry width and so on. It is also restricted to about 50% confidence limits and the calibration to U.S. capacity is still unknown at this time. 6.0 Conclusions IT tools bring many advantages and convenience to our lives. It shortens the gap between people and time required from place to place. It makes the world run faster with better quality. . They always play major roles in many fields such as construction, banking and design, etc. There are many computer programmes used for road management and engineering. HDM-4 and ARCADY are typical examples in this field. HDM-4 mainly performs its functions in road management in making decision for the future improvement of road assets in network and project level. It can predict the different impacts. Making decision related to cost is very important since budget is always limited and so prioritization is always necessary. The prioritization can be determined by HDM-4, and the budget and resource can be effectively allocated. ARCADY can perform its functions in road engineering in geometric design and accident rate prediction. It has the advantages of time saving, accuracy and clear presentation over human capability in design by hands. Accuracy is very important in geometric design since it can directly affect the road users. Therefore, it can increase the degree of road safety which is always the most important issue in road traffic. ARCADY has been developed to ARCADY 5 and this latest version was tested to be still valid in performing its functions effectively. Practical uses of both computer programmes also show their validities in the areas in many projects but further analyses are still necessary for overcoming the drawbacks.

Better Safe Than Sorry

In her 2006 worldwide hit Hung Up, Madonna sings time goes by so slowly. Surely, the Queen of Pop was wrong as everybody lives in a rush nowadays. It is often said that it is better to be safe than sorry but how true is that? Things should be done right or else theyre going to be regretted. It is better to do things calmly, easily than do them wrong and regret it later on. Most people are sorry for mistakes they committed during their youth because at that time they werent completely aware of their responsibilities; they used to believe that life was full of risks so why not take them anyway?. For instance, two young people who are crazily in love shouldnt immediately get married even if theyre convinced theyre soul mates; they should wonder if theyre ready to sacrifice to their new family, if theyre ready to have children and raise them Other examples include car crashes because one was driving under influence, sex during teen hood, etc. However, doing things slowly is not necessarily right. Taking matters to the extreme can be very hurtful as people whoare considered too slow are often left out, sometimes because they ignore the changes going on around them. Also, becoming obsessed with doing things right can lead people to do things completely wrong. It is true that it is better to be safe than sorry but doing things right is what matters the most, whatever the circumstances are.

Assigment 3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Assigment 3 - Assignment Example They both got up from a sitting position whenever they felt like it. The children also displayed fine motor skills by playing with the props and toys; they would use the toy as a tool to smack the other toy. The toddlers also showed interest in the strange sounds they heard. If someone with a slightly strange voice spoke they paused for a second to recognize the source. One of the toddlers did show slight imbalance while walking, but the caretaker said that it was normal. Every child wobbles once in a while. The children showed cognitive development when they were playing with the toys. They also understood what the caregiver wanted them to do. The speaker would show them the toy whenever they seem to cry. They would immediately get interested in the toy or a game the speaker would play with them. Both the toddlers showed attention skills. Whenever the speaker would talk to them, they would listen and respond/react. The toddlers seemed interested in toys and props and engaged with the setup persistently until they started feeling lonely and wanted to go back to the caregiver. The children showed signs of their awareness about shapes and sizes. One baby tried to fit the small toy in the larger one, but the shapes were too different from each other, so they didn’t fit. But the child showed that he knew that smaller would go inside the bigger. The children also demonstrated curiosity and the ability to initiate. Any new toy would interest them. They would leave the old toys and would go discover a new one. It is difficult to write a comprehensive report about the cognitive development of the toddlers from a brief observation. However, during this short demonstration, they showed excellent eye-hand coordination, physical activity, sense of size and shape (with the toys), and chasing each other. Both the toddlers showed emotional connection with the speaker. They responded and obeyed many times during the demonstration. They would cower when a

Analyze companie in operation using analytical tools and strategy Assignment

Analyze companie in operation using analytical tools and strategy implementation (Apple ) - Assignment Example This is part of the risk management philosophy associated with their strategic expansion models. These licensing agreements are proactive protections that ensure no counterfeiting occurs and that the business’ software innovations are not duplicated by competition. Marketing is a major social issue for Apple as their reputation relies on positive consumer sentiment about the company and its products. The business uses marketing research to assist in identifying consumer knowledge about the firm and its products as part of proactive strategic leadership. A recent survey targeting teens in the United Kingdom identified that over 84 percent had already heard of the Apple iPhone and 25 percent would be willing to pay $500 for the device (Jones, 18). Marketing research is important when establishing strategic pricing structures for these products when considering the extent of the products’ life cycle on the consumer and business marketplaces. This is also part of management accounting systems in strategic development that â€Å"provide a monetary reflection of enterprise operations† (Clinton & Van der Merwe, 15). It helps the strategic leaders at Apple maintain control over costs and can assist in planning for new product development s based on consumer attitudes. Socially, Apple must consider the business’ reputation related to the buying behaviors and lifestyles of its target markets. Negative publicity is becoming more important and increases in frequency when trying to establish a brand presence in key markets (Dahlen & Lange, 388). This is part of the strategic governance process to ensure that proper public relations are maintained and that the products or the company image is not tarnished by its own actions or the interventions of third parties. Again, this is a risk management focus that might include hiring PR firms and developing a tracking system to

Exploring Race and Challenging Privilege Essay -- Personal Narrative R

Exploring Race and Challenging Privilege I thought I understood racism well enough. Since early childhood I’ve learned from parents and teachers that racism is a sense of racial superiority, a way of making judgments about people based on their skin color before you get to know them, and a cause of hate crimes and foul language. I think I’m not racist, and as a white woman I’m not likely to be the victim of racism, so I usually think racism has nothing to do with my life. But I’m uncomfortable with the idea of race because what I’ve learned about race is contradictory. I’m taught that people of different races are equal, but I see that they live separately. I’m told that they should get along, but the past and the present reveal that they don’t. I’m a product of political correctness that at best gives me a list of things not to say, and at worst makes me want to pretend that race doesn’t exist, but that does not give me a thorough understanding of how to think about race or how to see my role in a society in which race matters. Kozol, Tatum, and Delpit made me confront my discomfort and guided me through the thorny terrain of thinking about race. They’ve made me think more about my own identity as part of racial and socio-economic groups. They’ve given me some tools that seem more effective than rhetoric about equality to help me to recognize and overcome prejudices that I’ve always pretended I didn’t have. They’ve taught me that racism and classism are not evident only in isolated discriminatory acts, but that they pervade American institutions, including the one upon which our hopes of creating a truly equal society most firmly rests, public education. They’ve made me aware of the effects of white privilege and e... ...a firm understanding of racial dynamics in my classroom and know what I want to teach my students about race and how to go about that so that I don’t accidentally teach them the wrong things. As an active tax-paying citizen, I want to support tax reform that will equalize the disparities in public education and other public institutions that should serve all Americans. As an individual, I search myself for biases, try to be aware of the way others perceive me, and make it a goal to take risks to breach gaps between racial and class groups. This commitment to open learning should help me through the many processes that remain – as I try to develop my stance on other thorny issues like affirmative action, as I form new relationships with people, and as I acknowledge my starting place as a white woman in racist America when I make choices about how to lead my life.

Fashion: -a Person

Para -â€Å"Fashion† meaner the prevailing mode in such things as are subject to change in form or style, as in ornament and etiquette, and especially in dress in the dictionary. -It has spread in all the spheres of our life. -The craze for fashion is great among young people all over the world. Para -l agree with the girl on the right. -A person should be dressed in clothes that suit him or her. – A person should not lose his or her personality, deny the comfort and waste money on these well- designed products of one's imagination.Clothes are put on to help one look presentable. -People should not follow fashion blindly because it might not reflect our personality. -Moreover, the fashion designers created their clothes for certain people, so it cannot suit everyone. -Ones should choose the most comfortable clothing on their own, because only they know what is the most suitable and convenient for them. Para -Malaysia is a country without four seasons. -Malaysia's weathe r is always hot. -Thick and woolen clothes are not suitable for our climate.We must choose our clothing properly because certain clothes are against our culture or tradition. -Some people may misunderstood and feel that we did not respect them. -We should not wear clothes that are too sexy. Para -Certain clothes are not suitable for the ordinary person because they are special designed for celebrities. -Certain clothes will look exaggerate on us. -Sometimes,we will even being laugh by others . Para 5 – Economically, fashion trends valued by high price.A person that follow fashion has to spend a lot of money buying new clothes as fashion changed everyday. – It is reasonless because for the same amount of one can buy a tremendous lot of clothes which are likely to help to express his personality. – Hence,a person should not pay such a high price to follow the fashion. Para -As a conclusion,we should wear clothes that suit oneself because it risk a lot as we will l ost a lot of money and we will lose our own personality if we follow fashion blindly. Fashion: -a Person By Berries

media Essay examples - 1407 Words

The ‘media’ as a whole plays a major part in one’s life. Media messages can be presented in many ways from reading newspapers to watching news on television from the comfort of your own home. However, the most important factors are how the news is retrieved and portrayed by an individual or a group of individuals as each individual has the right to accept what they believe not what they are manipulated to believe or to accept. There are various issues that can be looked at to conclude whether or not there is such thing as free, unbiased media, to define this topic it is too broad to study itself so it will be broken down and researched in small parts. Bias in different context will be analysed and shown how it is interpreted. Theorists†¦show more content†¦Taking this into consideration the media industries must release products for their customers to buy in order for them to make a profit. This is known as commercial bias for the reason that the customer s of the news media are advertisers. The meaning of ‘good’ to media sources is observed as the number of readers and viewers attention they can draw. The sources of bias can be from editors, journalists, speakers and corporation groups. When journalists or any other news source decide to publish a particular story it needs to be taken into account whether or not they will benefit from the story or will it be a failure to them. A journalist will attempt to be neutral by taking two points into thought, the first being: fairness to those individuals involved within the news / story being released and the second is a professional process of collecting data / information that obtains fairness, completeness and accurateness. When detecting bias in a press release or story a number of issues can be raised from the reader’s point of view resulting in questions relating to the authors socio-political position and which group they belong to, does the speaker have something or another to gain personally for actually releasing the story or not. SuchShow MoreRelatedMedia, Poor, And Media845 Words   |  4 PagesIt s an interesting world we live in when comedians such as Jon Stewart are more trusted to give truthful, adequate information rather than news outlets and the media. What seems like a curious predicament is really nothing more than the creation of a monetized media, the value of a persons interest in a headline. In Media, poor ethics and sensationalism caused by greed have led to unfortunate effects such as misinformation, idolization of celebrities, and reduced credibility of news outlets asRead MoreMedia Panics981 Words   |  4 PagesA media panic or often referred to as a moral panic, is a term that describes how the media is formulating issues amongst our society. Over time, our culture has shifted and caused for many conclusions regarding media panics and the relationship between youth and the media culture. Based upon previous knowledge and course readings, I have drawn a very disturbing conclusion; this being that no matter what age, children are willing or non willingly now under surveillance to determine what kind ofRead MorePrint Media And Digital Media1740 Words   |  7 PagesThe print and the digital media have been in the forefront in acting as the social mirror reflecting on what goes on in the society. Thus when it is said that the print media is dead it becomes quite disturbing because traditionally it is known as the only tool that people have come to trust to deliver information in a holistic manner. Well, in the advertising world, it is assumed that the more the products are displayed in pages of magazines and newspapers; they are bound to be sold more becauseRead MoreThe Impact Of Media On New Media1313 Words   |  6 Pagesreceived information and news through paper-based media,like newspapers,magazines and books.Owing to the appearance of mobile phones and IPADs,people can look through news easily and conveniently,paper-based media need to innovate and reform.This assignment will present the status quo of paper-based media,it will explain the combination of new media and paper-based media,the significance of paper-based media innovation. McLuhan Marshall said that media are the basic motivation of social developmentRead MoreMedia Influence Mass Media795 Words   |  4 PagesMass Media and the Influence on America and Television By. Mozelle Jones HUMANITIES In real life, we are in Mass Media and we did not even know it. Everything from you learning to just leisure involvement. The cultural products that influence mass media and has taking part is Net Flix. It has made an impact on the movie business where television can be used to see movies and mass media. Television still has an impact on cultural meanings. It shows us the news, ads, and movies that changeRead MoreMedia And The Media Industry1465 Words   |  6 Pagesformulate a reply to your comments about media course, Television Production which I’ve chosen to study. Media courses have been taught at U.K universities for over thirty years and vary from practical to academic studies, but one thing is for sure, they have evolved over time as the media industry has changed considerably. I understand you have major reservations about my choice of course, as this isn’t traditional degree, it’s worth noting that the media industry generates  £8 million an hour inRead MoreMedia And The Global Media1417 Words   |  6 Pagesbringing about the global media order. The first of these five shifts is the increasing concentration of ownership. This means that the global media is now dominated by a small number of powerful, centralized media conglomerates. Sociological theories of the various forms of the media shows us that they can never be assumed to be politically neutral or socially beneficial. For many people the key problem is the increasing concentration of ownership of different types of media within large conglomeratesRead MoreHow Media Affects The Way Of Media Consumption2434 Words   |  10 PagesSummary The research conducts that how extent media are consumed by the contemporary immigrants, who is from East Asia, in London and how they perceive their nation’s news, Britain’s news and International news via certain media. Method of research is one to one interview followed by questionnaires, as well as additional oral questionnaires. Results of interview show that four of five interviewers usually check their nation’s news while do not check Britain’s domestic news. In addition, even theyRead MoreMedia s Influence On Media1014 Words   |  5 PagesThe way that diasporic audiences use media products to give them a connection to their country of origin has been a topic of research for many scholars. The increasing ability to stream content online allows people to keep the same routine in watching content and to watch content which they can relate to and see themselves reflected in, often unlike the content on in their new home country. Online news allows pe ople to keep up with current events and look out for events that may affect the ones theyRead MoreMedia Bias And The Media1042 Words   |  5 Pagesor the method for reporting them is termed as Media Bias. It is some of the time said that media tailor the news and as opposed to introducing the truths it shows different purposes of perspectives and sentiments. Media inclination is pervasive or broad and it defies the guidelines of news-casting. Media Bias is seen in just about all the nations on the planet and the bearing and level of its effect differs. Some of the time the impediments of media may likewise be translated as inclination. Such