This is my lecture to Engineering Students at the University of Birmingham, for Engineers Without Borders UK. It talks about transport engineering in general terms and how engineers can use appropriate transport technologies to improve lives and their local environment.
Accessibility is Primarily About People and Processes, Not Digital Resources!lisbk
Slides for a talk on "Accessibility is Primarily About People and Processes, Not Digital Resources!" given as a pre-recorded slidecast (with audio) by Brian Kelly, Cetis at the OZeWAI 2013 conference held at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia on Friday 29 November 2013.
For further information see http://ukwebfocus.wordpress.com/events/ozewai-2013/
Debbie Hopkins, John Williams & Sandra Mandic present their Energy Cultures 2 findings on changing youth mobility practices at the National Energy Research Institute Conference, Wellington March 20-21.
Accessibility is Primarily About People and Processes, Not Digital Resources!lisbk
Slides for a talk on "Accessibility is Primarily About People and Processes, Not Digital Resources!" given as a pre-recorded slidecast (with audio) by Brian Kelly, Cetis at the OZeWAI 2013 conference held at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia on Friday 29 November 2013.
For further information see http://ukwebfocus.wordpress.com/events/ozewai-2013/
Debbie Hopkins, John Williams & Sandra Mandic present their Energy Cultures 2 findings on changing youth mobility practices at the National Energy Research Institute Conference, Wellington March 20-21.
This project was conducted for the Nissan Research Center in Silicon Valley as an exploratory ethnographic study of the social life of the car. The goal was to generate a foundational understanding of how people in the U.S. understand and drive their cars and to provide clear design implications to Nissan Labs regarding future autonomous vehicles (all AV levels 1-4).
Revolutionizing School – Fablab@school dk 2016 KeynotePeter Troxler
Maker Education is a new method of learning. It promises that students not only learn to "read" technology but also become able to "write" it—an approach previously not found in the education system. The core of this method is that students themselves take ownership of their learning process by working on challenges they can solve by applying digital manufacturing technology.
An important prerequisite for "writing" technology however remains the ability to "read" it. However, technology today is often read protected—hardware has "no serviceable parts inside", the source code of software is not available to users. The remedy is open hardware and open source software; and education has equally to embrace open design principles.
Webinar Series: Public engagement, education and outreach for CCS. Part 2: CC...Global CCS Institute
The second webinar in the public engagement, education and outreach for CCS Series took a more in-depth look at CCS education, specifically the creation and delivery of CCS education programs within developing countries.
Education has long been recognised as a critical component in understanding how science, society, and adaptation influence thinking about issues impacting our climate. As an emerging technology with an important role to play in shaping our low carbon energy future, CCS plays a role in our teaching around these topics in both developed and developing countries.
In this webinar, geochemist and renowned CCS education professional Sallie Greenberg, PhD, was joined by the Stakeholder Engagement Team from the South African Centre for Carbon Capture & Storage (SACCCS) to discuss the key learnings and experiences highlighted in, CCS education in developing countries a recent guidance paper for the Global CCS Institute.
Drawing on learning from existing CCS education initiatives and good practice from the wider education literature, Dr Greenberg highlighted areas of universal approach while facing particular challenges when working in the context of a developing country. Ms Polly Modiko, the Head of Stakeholder Engagement at SACCCS, then introduced the comprehensive program of education and outreach activities that the SACCCS team have been developing to support exploration of opportunities for an onshore Pilot CO2 Storage Project (PCSP) in South Africa.
This entire Webinar Series has been designed to hear directly from the experts and project practitioners researching and delivering public engagement, education and outreach best practice for CCS. This second Webinar combined elements of education research with real world application and discussion, showcasing important learnings, and concluding with links to further education resources for those wishing to learn more.
Webinar series: Public engagement, education and outreach for carbon capture ...Global CCS Institute
The public engagement, education and outreach for CCS Webinar Series kicked off this September with a stellar opportunity to join three international public engagement experts, as they reflected on the key research findings and lessons learned from over 10 years of social research and project engagement experience.
World-renowned social researcher and IEAGHG Social Research Network Chair Peta Ashworth started the discussion by setting out her key lessons learned, and what future challenges and opportunities she perceives for public engagement with CCS.
An expert panel made up of Sarah Wade, Environmental Regulation and Policy Consultant and Coordinator of the Outreach Working Group for the US Department of Energy Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership Initiative, and Norm Sacuta, Communication Manager at the Petroleum Technology Research Centre and Director of Communications for the IEAGHG Weyburn-Midale CO2 Monitoring and Storage Project, then discussed these conclusions and their own experiences of engaging the public, before opening the Webinar up to questions from the audience.
This entire Webinar Series has been designed to hear directly from the experts and project practitioners researching and delivering public engagement, education and outreach best practice for CCS.
This first Webinar combined elements of social research with real world application and discussion, showcasing important learnings, and concluding with links to further publications and resources for those wishing to learn more.
The Holcim Awards is an international competition of the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction. The competition celebrates innovative, future-oriented and tangible sustainable construction projects and visions from around the globe and provides prize money of USD 2 million per three-year competition cycle.
It is op open for entries until March 23, 2011.
More information are available on:
http://www.holcimawards.org
Transport planning is a science that study the problems that arise in proving transportation facilities in an urban, regional or national setting and to prepare a systematic basis for planning.
The principles of urban transport planning can be applied to regional or national transport planning as well with due changes.
Urban transport networks are no longer capable of accommodating the movement of road users and vehicles.
Levels of traffic overloading vary in time.
In city centres, motorised movements difficult and long-term car parking almost impossible because of narrow streets often accessible only to non-motorised traffic.
Design led planning presentation at Department of Design a World Design Capit...Shahid Solomon
Cape Town’s Student heartland creates a powerful geometry of opportunity around Cape Town’s planned Second Metropolitan Node at Tygerberg. With more than 100 000 students, five higher learning institutions of national significance and excellent logistics
and infrastructural linkages, the Student City opportunity will be a major driver of urban regeneration.
The presentation explores the meaning and implications of design driven planning, the experience thus far on the Voortrekker Road Corridor and the potentials and possibilities for weaving together an integrated matrix of learning, living, working and cultural opportunities. Place making is seen as a central discipline in the process of developing Student City
This project was conducted for the Nissan Research Center in Silicon Valley as an exploratory ethnographic study of the social life of the car. The goal was to generate a foundational understanding of how people in the U.S. understand and drive their cars and to provide clear design implications to Nissan Labs regarding future autonomous vehicles (all AV levels 1-4).
Revolutionizing School – Fablab@school dk 2016 KeynotePeter Troxler
Maker Education is a new method of learning. It promises that students not only learn to "read" technology but also become able to "write" it—an approach previously not found in the education system. The core of this method is that students themselves take ownership of their learning process by working on challenges they can solve by applying digital manufacturing technology.
An important prerequisite for "writing" technology however remains the ability to "read" it. However, technology today is often read protected—hardware has "no serviceable parts inside", the source code of software is not available to users. The remedy is open hardware and open source software; and education has equally to embrace open design principles.
Webinar Series: Public engagement, education and outreach for CCS. Part 2: CC...Global CCS Institute
The second webinar in the public engagement, education and outreach for CCS Series took a more in-depth look at CCS education, specifically the creation and delivery of CCS education programs within developing countries.
Education has long been recognised as a critical component in understanding how science, society, and adaptation influence thinking about issues impacting our climate. As an emerging technology with an important role to play in shaping our low carbon energy future, CCS plays a role in our teaching around these topics in both developed and developing countries.
In this webinar, geochemist and renowned CCS education professional Sallie Greenberg, PhD, was joined by the Stakeholder Engagement Team from the South African Centre for Carbon Capture & Storage (SACCCS) to discuss the key learnings and experiences highlighted in, CCS education in developing countries a recent guidance paper for the Global CCS Institute.
Drawing on learning from existing CCS education initiatives and good practice from the wider education literature, Dr Greenberg highlighted areas of universal approach while facing particular challenges when working in the context of a developing country. Ms Polly Modiko, the Head of Stakeholder Engagement at SACCCS, then introduced the comprehensive program of education and outreach activities that the SACCCS team have been developing to support exploration of opportunities for an onshore Pilot CO2 Storage Project (PCSP) in South Africa.
This entire Webinar Series has been designed to hear directly from the experts and project practitioners researching and delivering public engagement, education and outreach best practice for CCS. This second Webinar combined elements of education research with real world application and discussion, showcasing important learnings, and concluding with links to further education resources for those wishing to learn more.
Webinar series: Public engagement, education and outreach for carbon capture ...Global CCS Institute
The public engagement, education and outreach for CCS Webinar Series kicked off this September with a stellar opportunity to join three international public engagement experts, as they reflected on the key research findings and lessons learned from over 10 years of social research and project engagement experience.
World-renowned social researcher and IEAGHG Social Research Network Chair Peta Ashworth started the discussion by setting out her key lessons learned, and what future challenges and opportunities she perceives for public engagement with CCS.
An expert panel made up of Sarah Wade, Environmental Regulation and Policy Consultant and Coordinator of the Outreach Working Group for the US Department of Energy Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership Initiative, and Norm Sacuta, Communication Manager at the Petroleum Technology Research Centre and Director of Communications for the IEAGHG Weyburn-Midale CO2 Monitoring and Storage Project, then discussed these conclusions and their own experiences of engaging the public, before opening the Webinar up to questions from the audience.
This entire Webinar Series has been designed to hear directly from the experts and project practitioners researching and delivering public engagement, education and outreach best practice for CCS.
This first Webinar combined elements of social research with real world application and discussion, showcasing important learnings, and concluding with links to further publications and resources for those wishing to learn more.
The Holcim Awards is an international competition of the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction. The competition celebrates innovative, future-oriented and tangible sustainable construction projects and visions from around the globe and provides prize money of USD 2 million per three-year competition cycle.
It is op open for entries until March 23, 2011.
More information are available on:
http://www.holcimawards.org
Transport planning is a science that study the problems that arise in proving transportation facilities in an urban, regional or national setting and to prepare a systematic basis for planning.
The principles of urban transport planning can be applied to regional or national transport planning as well with due changes.
Urban transport networks are no longer capable of accommodating the movement of road users and vehicles.
Levels of traffic overloading vary in time.
In city centres, motorised movements difficult and long-term car parking almost impossible because of narrow streets often accessible only to non-motorised traffic.
Design led planning presentation at Department of Design a World Design Capit...Shahid Solomon
Cape Town’s Student heartland creates a powerful geometry of opportunity around Cape Town’s planned Second Metropolitan Node at Tygerberg. With more than 100 000 students, five higher learning institutions of national significance and excellent logistics
and infrastructural linkages, the Student City opportunity will be a major driver of urban regeneration.
The presentation explores the meaning and implications of design driven planning, the experience thus far on the Voortrekker Road Corridor and the potentials and possibilities for weaving together an integrated matrix of learning, living, working and cultural opportunities. Place making is seen as a central discipline in the process of developing Student City
Summary of the output from the problem framing workshop for the GeoVation Challenge 'How can we improve transport in Britain?' held at the London Transport Museum on 19 January 2011.
Scotland – Ireland Archaeological Collaboration
On the 30th October 2014 Historic Scotland hosted a gathering at Edinburgh Castle. Over 50 archaeologists from Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland gathered together with experts in funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Scotland Europa, the Heritage Lottery Fund, Resourcing Scotland’s Heritage and Creative Scotland (Creative Europe). There was also a delegate from the Isle of Man. The presentations from the day are on this slideshare.
Participatory biological recording in the UK is a triumph of public contribution to our collective knowledge of the natural world. Devoted volunteers and enthusiasts generate vast databanks supporting environmental policy, research and practice with baseline data for thousands of native and non-native UK species.
As threats to UK wildlife mount, the need to grow the evidence base for effective conservation becomes increasingly vital. We need effective communications tools to be able to share this amazing energy and support an accessible, well informed citizen science culture. What key stories should we be telling to empower local communities in spaces on their doorsteps, and develop the practical skills among the existing and emerging army of volunteers, advocates and citizen scientists that will provide the evidence base and help shape the discussion going forward?
[WSO2Con EU 2017] Transforming the Way We Deliver Operational TechnologyWSO2
In this session, TfL's technology team talks about their experiences as agile pathfinders, and the elements required to create an environment suited to this new way of working.
This presentation outlines lessons learned from building protected bike lanes in three very different cities: Seattle, Austin and Memphis. Speakers will deliver practical advice for cities from cities on design, funding, outreach, project management and communications.
Presenters:
Presenter: Zach Vanderkooy PeopleForBikes
Co-Presenter: Chad Crager City of Austin, TX
Co-Presenter: Kristen Simpson City of Seattle, WA
Co-Presenter: Kyle Wagenschutz City of Memphis, TN
Peta Ashworth, Group Leader of the Science into Society Group at the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) presented a Global CCS Institute webinar on public awareness and acceptance of CCS.
RV 2014: Urban Circulator Roundtable: Shaping Cities one Challenge at a Time ...Rail~Volution
Urban Circulator Roundtable: Shaping Cities One Challenge at a Time AICP CM 1.5
An urban circulator roundtable? How appropriate! Hear speakers from around the country -- Austin; Atlanta; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Portland-- experienced in different disciplines of urban circulator implementation. Start with short presentations from each unique perspective, then focus on the challenges and issues associated with implementation -- outreach, financing, traffic, etc. -- and how each organization overcame these challenges.
Moderator: Neil McFarlane, General Manager, TriMet, Portland, Oregon
Paul Zebell, Project Manager, Bureau of Transportation, City of Portland, Oregon
April Manlapaz, Transit Project Manager, AECOM, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Derek Benedict, PE, Transportation Engineer, URS Corporation, Austin, Texas
D.J. Baxter, Executive Director, Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City, Utah
Jim Erkel, Attorney & Program Director, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, St. Paul, Minnesota
Lisa Gordon, Chief Operating Officer, Atlanta Beltline, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia
Whitebox GAT - an introduction by its developerRobin Lovelace
John Lindsay, the main developer of the little known but extremely powerful GIS program Whitebox Geospatial Analysis Tools, describes his software at GISRUK 2014 in Glasgow.
From Big City to Bike City NYC's cycling transformation 2007-2013Robin Lovelace
In this visually engaging and informative talk, Jon Orcutt, Policy Director of New York's Department of Travel explains how the Big Apple became a cycling city.
Making new connections: transport, mobilities and mobile phones in sub-Sahara...Robin Lovelace
This presentation, by Dr Gina Porter of Durham University, demonstrates the impact that mobile phones are already having on travel patterns in developing nations, focussing on Ghana.
These slides, presented at the E-Futures autumn conference in 2013, provide an overview of Stuart's project investigating the optimal array design for deploying tidal farms which could, under optimistic assumptions, provide around 2% of UK electricity by 2050.
This was my presentation for the Free Open Source Software for Geo (FOSS4G) conference, held in Nottingham, 2013. It shows the images I've made to try and make my work accessible to everyone.
Hoyle Lecture in Transport Geography
This is the Hoyle lecture in transport geography, hosted by the Transport Geography Research Group (see our website). This year the invited speaker was Andrew Goetz, who talked about the history and future directions of the field. It took place on August 29th at the 2013 RGS-IBG Annual International Conference, London.
Transport, Energy and Socio-Economic Transformation: Solutions for Sustainabi...Robin Lovelace
Rural communities face specific challenges if they are to become sustainable in a future resource constrained world. Whilst only 20% of the population in Scotland reside in rural communities, they have a proportionally higher transport ecological footprint (EF). This paper presents the results of an investigation of three Scottish rural communities, where transport is essential. The communities’ transport EF, which was calculated using Stockholm Environment Institute’s resource accounting model (REAP) and data from household questionnaires, was found to be between 60% and 100% of the “fairshare” of the Earth’s available biocapacity (measured on a per capita basis) and unsustainable. Scenarios were developed to model the impact of technology and renewable energy on the EF. The results showed that switching to electric cars powered by renewable energy significantly reduced the EF. However, a sustainable transport EF (one which was less than 20% of the “fairshare”) was only achieved when community-wide changes in car ownership and mobility, requiring community co-operation and transformation, accompanied the switch to new technologies. This approach of future scenario modelling gives new insights into the priorities for rural policy. Community access to renewable resources and capacity to implement the community-wide changes are likely to be pre-requisites for sustainability.
Modelling adaptive capacity to fuel shocks – an indicator for sustainable tra...Robin Lovelace
There is a possibility that a fuel shock could occur; a severe restriction in the amount of fuel available for transport. This would restrict the movement of people. The spatial pattern of the capacity of individuals to adapt to a fuel shock is of concern to policy makers. Additionally the scope for policy makers to estimate the effects of schemes to increase adaptive capacity on groups of people at small geographies would allow them to target resources to more vulnerable areas.
An indicator is built which reports the proportion of people in an area who would have the capacity to make a journey such as their current commute immediately after the fuel shock begins.
Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey 2024 by 91mobiles.pdf91mobiles
91mobiles recently conducted a Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey in which we asked over 3,000 respondents about the TV they own, aspects they look at on a new TV, and their TV buying preferences.
JMeter webinar - integration with InfluxDB and GrafanaRTTS
Watch this recorded webinar about real-time monitoring of application performance. See how to integrate Apache JMeter, the open-source leader in performance testing, with InfluxDB, the open-source time-series database, and Grafana, the open-source analytics and visualization application.
In this webinar, we will review the benefits of leveraging InfluxDB and Grafana when executing load tests and demonstrate how these tools are used to visualize performance metrics.
Length: 30 minutes
Session Overview
-------------------------------------------
During this webinar, we will cover the following topics while demonstrating the integrations of JMeter, InfluxDB and Grafana:
- What out-of-the-box solutions are available for real-time monitoring JMeter tests?
- What are the benefits of integrating InfluxDB and Grafana into the load testing stack?
- Which features are provided by Grafana?
- Demonstration of InfluxDB and Grafana using a practice web application
To view the webinar recording, go to:
https://www.rttsweb.com/jmeter-integration-webinar
Kubernetes & AI - Beauty and the Beast !?! @KCD Istanbul 2024Tobias Schneck
As AI technology is pushing into IT I was wondering myself, as an “infrastructure container kubernetes guy”, how get this fancy AI technology get managed from an infrastructure operational view? Is it possible to apply our lovely cloud native principals as well? What benefit’s both technologies could bring to each other?
Let me take this questions and provide you a short journey through existing deployment models and use cases for AI software. On practical examples, we discuss what cloud/on-premise strategy we may need for applying it to our own infrastructure to get it to work from an enterprise perspective. I want to give an overview about infrastructure requirements and technologies, what could be beneficial or limiting your AI use cases in an enterprise environment. An interactive Demo will give you some insides, what approaches I got already working for real.
Essentials of Automations: Optimizing FME Workflows with ParametersSafe Software
Are you looking to streamline your workflows and boost your projects’ efficiency? Do you find yourself searching for ways to add flexibility and control over your FME workflows? If so, you’re in the right place.
Join us for an insightful dive into the world of FME parameters, a critical element in optimizing workflow efficiency. This webinar marks the beginning of our three-part “Essentials of Automation” series. This first webinar is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills to utilize parameters effectively: enhancing the flexibility, maintainability, and user control of your FME projects.
Here’s what you’ll gain:
- Essentials of FME Parameters: Understand the pivotal role of parameters, including Reader/Writer, Transformer, User, and FME Flow categories. Discover how they are the key to unlocking automation and optimization within your workflows.
- Practical Applications in FME Form: Delve into key user parameter types including choice, connections, and file URLs. Allow users to control how a workflow runs, making your workflows more reusable. Learn to import values and deliver the best user experience for your workflows while enhancing accuracy.
- Optimization Strategies in FME Flow: Explore the creation and strategic deployment of parameters in FME Flow, including the use of deployment and geometry parameters, to maximize workflow efficiency.
- Pro Tips for Success: Gain insights on parameterizing connections and leveraging new features like Conditional Visibility for clarity and simplicity.
We’ll wrap up with a glimpse into future webinars, followed by a Q&A session to address your specific questions surrounding this topic.
Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your FME expertise and drive your projects to new heights of efficiency.
Encryption in Microsoft 365 - ExpertsLive Netherlands 2024Albert Hoitingh
In this session I delve into the encryption technology used in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Purview. Including the concepts of Customer Key and Double Key Encryption.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 3DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 3. In this session, we will cover desktop automation along with UI automation.
Topics covered:
UI automation Introduction,
UI automation Sample
Desktop automation flow
Pradeep Chinnala, Senior Consultant Automation Developer @WonderBotz and UiPath MVP
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
Epistemic Interaction - tuning interfaces to provide information for AI supportAlan Dix
Paper presented at SYNERGY workshop at AVI 2024, Genoa, Italy. 3rd June 2024
https://alandix.com/academic/papers/synergy2024-epistemic/
As machine learning integrates deeper into human-computer interactions, the concept of epistemic interaction emerges, aiming to refine these interactions to enhance system adaptability. This approach encourages minor, intentional adjustments in user behaviour to enrich the data available for system learning. This paper introduces epistemic interaction within the context of human-system communication, illustrating how deliberate interaction design can improve system understanding and adaptation. Through concrete examples, we demonstrate the potential of epistemic interaction to significantly advance human-computer interaction by leveraging intuitive human communication strategies to inform system design and functionality, offering a novel pathway for enriching user-system engagements.
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
Do you want to learn how to model and simulate an electrical network from scratch in under an hour?
Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
During the webinar, you will discover the PowSyBl ecosystem as well as handle and study an electrical network through an interactive Python notebook.
PowSyBl is an open source project hosted by LF Energy, which offers a comprehensive set of features for electrical grid modelling and simulation. Among other advanced features, PowSyBl provides:
- A fully editable and extendable library for grid component modelling;
- Visualization tools to display your network;
- Grid simulation tools, such as power flows, security analyses (with or without remedial actions) and sensitivity analyses;
The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
What you will learn during the webinar:
- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
- For advanced developers: master the skills to efficiently apply PowSyBl functionalities to your real-world scenarios.
Neuro-symbolic is not enough, we need neuro-*semantic*Frank van Harmelen
Neuro-symbolic (NeSy) AI is on the rise. However, simply machine learning on just any symbolic structure is not sufficient to really harvest the gains of NeSy. These will only be gained when the symbolic structures have an actual semantics. I give an operational definition of semantics as “predictable inference”.
All of this illustrated with link prediction over knowledge graphs, but the argument is general.
2. What I'm going to talk about
1.What is development?
2.Transport interventions
– Infrastructure
– Vehicles
– Policies
– Project design
3.Engineering in context and the design
challenge
3. A bit about me
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Interested science-policy interface
Geography in Bristol & Salamanca
Dissertation in Honduras
MSc in Environmental Science at York
Focus on energy -> PhD in Sheffield
4 years on EWB Sheffield committee
EWB UK work
Now researching transport, Uni. Leeds
4. 1. What is developent?
• Choose the transport-related image that
best fits with your idea of development
5. 1 - Young women with bikes in an urban area.
Source: BEN Namibia
6. 2 - Local participation in road building, rural Africa
Source: Peter Bentall
7. 3 - 'Megaproject' construction scheme: upgrading of the Panama Canal
Source: CNN
9. Development usually includes:
• Poverty alleviation
• 'Sustainability'
– Environment
– Society
– Economy
• Long-term benefit
• Fairness
• Economic growth?
• Integration in global economy?
10. How can transport -> development
• Economic
– transport of goods and services
– finding employment, commuting
– direct impacts: tourism, construction,
mechanics
• Social
– transport system impacts health
– community cohesion
– connectedness of nation
• Environmental
11. 2. Transport interventions
• This is where engineers come in!
• Two main pathways of change
– Infrastructure
– Vehicles
• Engineers have many additional impacts
– Project design, longevity, lifecycle
– Feedback into policy making process
– Placing engineered solutions in context
12. 2.1 Infrastructure
• Cars, buses,
motorbikes and trucks
are increasingly
ubiquitous
• But they can only
work well on good
roads
• Infrastructure also
influences transport
modes and society
13. What is transport infrastructure?
•
•
•
•
•
•
Roads (often earth or gravel)
Railways
Bridges
Air and boat ports
'Active travel' pathways
'Ancillary assets' such as pavements, road
signs and drainage
• Parking spaces
14. Infrastructure considerations
• Usually operate on a BIG scale involvement of central government
• But some community and NGO projects
• Maintenance is critical
• Strategic thinking in where to place roads
needed - now easier with better data
• Long time-scales - can 'lock in' certain
types of transport - e.g. UK roads policy.
15. Impact of infrastructure
• Implications for user safety: should separate
motorised/non-motorised traffic
• Road deaths: 2nd cause of death of 5-29 yr olds
worldwide.
• Disproportionate impact on the poorest
16. Simple, tested solutions often best
• Good design can save lives
• Often best practice is not regulated for engineer's responsibility
17. EWB experience in infrastructure
• Limited due to the scale of projects
• Typically involve road maintenance and
rehabilitation in rural areas
• Many interrelated skill needed
– Surveying
– Land clearance
– Earthworks
– Project management
– Communication!
18. Bridges get kids to school
•
•
•
•
•
Existing bridge was damaged by flooding
EWB placement - 10 weeks coodination
New foundations and anchorage blocks
Standard, robust bridge design used
Main impact: increased school attendance
19. Footbridge: lessons learned
• "Engineers are most effective when acting
as a broker of technical advice rather than
a provider of solutions" (Daniel Gallagher,
EWB volunteer, 2013)
• Safety regulations
• Engineers must be humble and recognise
the limits of their knowledge and skills
• Career opportunities: Dan now works for
World Bank
20. 2.2 Vehicles - Introduction
• Bicycles, walking, buses and motorbikes
are common modes for world's poor
• Not cars: status symbol, drives inequality
(Illich, 1974)
• Higher turnover due to smaller size and
lower cost: shorter-term impacts
• Easier to make substantial impact quickly
21. Vehicles: considerations relative to
infrastructure projects
1. Higher turnover due to smaller size and
lower cost: shorter-term impacts
2. Usually faster to implement, more room
for experimentation
3. Vehicles are mobile, so impact can
spread rapidly from place to place
4. Ownership: private - incentive to fix
22. Pros and cons of different modes:
"Horses for courses"
Source: Starkey (2001) - freely available here
24. Energy use
• Energy: critical in
era of fossil fuel
depletion and
climate change
(Lovelace et al. 2011)
• Should favour
low-energy
modes
• Health benefits
25. Example 2: Bicycle Ambulance Michael Linke, Namibia
• Developed using trial and error, designed
based on intuitive understanding
• Medium-scale production (100 units)
• Use: transporting HIV patients and others
Source: Bicycle Empowerment Namibia
26. Example 3:
Bamboo rickshaw
• Final year Mech.
Eng. project
• Tackled issues of weight and sustainability
• But is there really a need for this?
– Not tested properly
– Motivation from student, not local community
– Steel is not an unsustainable resource
• Take-away message: don't re-invent
wheel
27. Example 4: Bicycle trailers - UK
• Sustainable development needed
worldwide - issues in rich nations too
• Asked community groups for input
• Project manager:
– Design
– Materials
– Build
• Lessons to learn
• "Eco-technology"
28. Bicycle trailers - technical aspects
• After long discussion, L-section aluminium
chosen as basic material: light, adaptable
and widely available
• Solidworks used for design
• Hitch was major challenge (redesign)
• M6 bolts + nylocks
• Testing before use
32. 3. Engineering in contex
• Engineering for development requires
understanding of 'Big Picture'
• Built on social and economic foundations:
33. Engineering as problem solving
• But who sets the problems?
• Set your own problems
• Listen to others (local community)
• My top 3:
– How can technology encourage good health?
– How to we live without fossil fuels?
– How can technology reduce inequalities
• Think and research into these topics for
yourself
34. Appropriate technology
• Has the following
features (Greer
2009):
• Simple and resilient
• Modular
• Open source
• Scalable
What are
these
technologies
. Are they
appropriate?
35. Example 5: mobiles in Africa
• Common: "If you have a phone it is
nothing. In the olden days it meant you
were the richest man in the meeting" [boy
16y, Ghana, owns smart phone]
• Used to make travel more intelligently
• Provides lifeline of accessibility to older
generation
• Used in combination with boda-boda
drivers
• Source: Dr Gina Porter (talk)
36. Engineering as magic
• Imagine you are an
apprentice magician
• Your skills can
change the world
• But be warned: can
be used for good or ill
• How do you decide
where to direct your
magic?
• Sustainability begins
at home
37. The design challenge
• Housekeeping - important pre-requisites
– Teamwork + peer evaluation
– Task A (concepts) -> report (2,500 w max)
– Task B (design) -> report (2 + solutions)
• Things to think about
– do solutions address the real problem?
– timescale of solution
– local context + feasibility
• Constraints
– financial/economic
– cultural/political
– technological/environmental
Pecha Kucha talk
6th December
38. East Timor: Transport system
• "about 2,600 km of the network is bitumen
paved, 500 km is gravel, and almost 3,000 km is
earth-formed" (World Bank)
•
"While the road network is extensive, road standards are generally
poor. Pavements are generally narrow (3.5 to 5.5 meters) and
require vehicles to move off the pavement to pass other vehicles.
Vertical and horizontal alignments are poor, limiting travel speeds
and sight distance. Inadequate drainage exacerbates road
damage."
• Car ownership is low - 60 per 1000 people in
Indonesia
39. Possible transport projects for
Timor Leste:
• Identified by community organisations
– Cheap alternatives to petrol for fuel supplies
– Cheap form of transport for students to take to
get to school
– Training program for mechanics to fix cars
• Other possibilities
– More intelligent bus/taxi services
– Mapping for development
– Training of bicycle mechanics and usage
40. Thanks for listening
You are all in an amazingly privileged position with the world at your feet. Don't forget
that YOU control your own destiny. Follow you best instincts and you can have a real
impact on people around you. Slides available from www.robinlovelace.net.
41. Recommended reading
Starkey, P. (2001) Local Transport Solutions People,
Paradoxes and Progress Lessons Arising from the
Spread of Intermediate Means of Transport. The
World bank. http://tinyurl.com/m3mqh5h
Petts, R. (2012) Handbook of Intermediate Equipment for
Road Works in Emerging Economies. Intech Associates
McLoughlin, A. and Lovelace, R. Transport in
Development, Chapter (in progress) in EWB's
Engineering in Development book. See here.
42. Resources on Timor Leste
• Timor Leste Road Climate Resilience
Project (World Bank)
• ROADS FOR DEVELOPMENT (R4D),
Timor Leste road project (Ausaid)
• Timor-Leste: When a short road makes a
huge difference (International Labour
Org.)
• Boosting Cycling in Timor Leste
(SportImpact)
• Timor Leste Strategic plan (gov.tl)
43. References
Greer, J. M. (2009). The Ecotechnic Future: Envisioning a Post-Peak
World. Aztext Press.
Illich, I. (1974). Energy and equity (1st ed.). New York: Harper & Row.
Retrieved from http://www.ridemybike.org/energyandequity.pdf
Lovelace, R., Beck, S. B. M., Watson, M., & Wild, A. (2011). Assessing
the energy implications of replacing car trips with bicycle trips in
Sheffield, UK. Energy Policy, 39(4), 2075–2087.
Wilson, D. G., Papadopoulos, J., & Whitt, F. R. (2004). Bicycling
science (p. 477). MIT Press. Retrieved from
http://books.google.com/books?id=0JJo6DlF9iMC&pgis=1