Evaluating Spatial Behavior in the Urban Public Space of Kadıköy Square

This article focuses on the study of public open space of Kadıköy square. The objective is to assess user perceptions, satisfaction and patterns of outdoor space use. A qualitative approach is used to gain insights into aspects of human-environment intersections, for this purpose, a questionnaire survey and observation were conducted to examine this interaction. This research studies how people use public open spaces and what are the factors that impact the use of these spaces and what physical features are the most influential on the behavior patterns and specific activities related to the space in Kadıköy square

Agent-based models of social behaviour and communication in evacuations: A systematic review

Most modern agent-based evacuation models involve interactions between evacuees. However, the assumed reasons for interactions and portrayal of them may be overly simple. Research from social psychology suggests that people interact and communicate with one another when evacuating and evacuee response is impacted by the way information is communicated. Thus, we conducted a systematic review of agent-based evacuation models to identify 1) how social interactions and communication approaches between agents are simulated, and 2) what key variables related to evacuation are addressed in these models. We searched Web of Science and ScienceDirect to identify articles that simulated information exchange between agents during evacuations, and social behaviour during evacuations. From the final 70 included articles, we categorised eight types of social interaction that increased in social complexity from collision avoidance to social influence based on strength of social connections with other agents. In the 17 models which simulated communication, we categorised four ways that agents communicate information: spatially through information trails or radii around agents, via social networks and via external communication. Finally, the variables either manipulated or measured in the models were categorised into the following groups: environmental condition, personal attributes of the agents, procedure, and source of information. We discuss promising directions for agent-based evacuation models to capture the effects of communication and group dynamics on evacuee behaviour. Moreover, we demonstrate how communication and group dynamics may impact the variables commonly used in agent-based evacuation models.Comment: Pre-print submitted to Safety Science special issue following the 2023 Pedestrian and Evacuation Dynamics conferenc

Agent-based models of social behaviour and communication in evacuations:A systematic review

Most modern agent-based evacuation models involve interactions between evacuees. However, the assumed reasons for interactions and portrayal of them may be overly simple. Research from social psychology suggests that people interact and communicate with one another when evacuating and evacuee response is impacted by the way information is communicated. Thus, we conducted a systematic review of agent-based evacuation models to identify 1) how social interactions and communication approaches between agents are simulated, and 2) what key variables related to evacuation are addressed in these models. We searched Web of Science and ScienceDirect to identify articles that simulated information exchange between agents during evacuations, and social behaviour during evacuations. From the final 70 included articles, we categorised eight types of social interaction that increased in social complexity from collision avoidance to social influence based on strength of social connections with other agents. In the 17 models which simulated communication, we categorised four ways that agents communicate information: spatially through information trails or radii around agents, via social networks and via external communication. Finally, the variables either manipulated or measured in the models were categorised into the following groups: environmental condition, personal attributes of the agents, procedure, and source of information. We discuss promising directions for agent-based evacuation models to capture the effects of communication and group dynamics on evacuee behaviour. Moreover, we demonstrate how communication and group dynamics may impact the variables commonly used in agent-based evacuation models

Morals, Civilization and Behavior in Europe and Argentina in the Eyes of a Creole Traveler

In nineteenth century Latin America, the legitimization of a new social order was a crucial factor in the creation of modern nations, and it has been underscored how the most important narratives about nation-building were established in this period. In Argentina, literary, journalistic, epistolary, scientific and administrative texts addressed the issue of the legitimacy of the social order, posing ideas of modernity, nation and civilization that fought to predominate over others. Therefore, written discourse can be recognized as an arena of dispute of symbolic hegemony in the social representations of modernization and progress rather than as a mere vehicle for the imposition of a homogeneous culture of the dominant classes. Thus, chronicles, literary texts and epistles constitute necessary sources for a critical interpretation of the notions of culture, civilization and morality in the period that is today characterized as the period when the foundations of Latin American modernity were created.This paper analyzes the discursive footprints of these social changes in Argentina through the travelogue that Gabriel Carrasco, a conspicuous member of the local and national elite, scientist, writer, and statesman, wrote when visiting Europe in 1889. With this aim, we explore the notions of civilized behavior, morals, vice, and violence contained in it.Fil: Sedran, Paula María. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales del Litoral. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales del Litoral; Argentin

Biomechanical Locomotion Heterogeneity in Synthetic Crowds

Synthetic crowd simulation combines rule sets at different conceptual layers to represent the dynamic nature of crowds while adhering to basic principles of human steering, such as collision avoidance and goal completion. In this dissertation, I explore synthetic crowd simulation at the steering layer using a critical approach to define the central theme of the work, the impact of model representation and agent diversity in crowds. At the steering layer, simulated agents make regular decisions, or actions, related to steering which are often responsible for the emergent behaviours found in the macro-scale crowd. Because of this bottom-up impact of a steering model's defining rule-set, I postulate that biomechanics and diverse biomechanics may alter the outcomes of dynamic synthetic-crowds-based outcomes. This would mean that an assumption of normativity and/or homogeneity among simulated agents and their mobility would provide an inaccurate representation of a scenario. If these results are then used to make real world decisions, say via policy or design, then those populations not represented in the simulated scenario may experience a lack of representation in the actualization of those decisions. A focused literature review shows that applications of both biomechanics and diverse locomotion representation at this layer of modelling are very narrow and often not present. I respond to the narrowness of this representation by addressing both biomechanics and heterogeneity separately. To address the question of performance and importance of locomotion biomechanics in crowd simulation, I use a large scale comparative approach. The industry standard synthetic crowd models are tested under a battery of benchmarks derived from prior work in comparative analysis of synthetic crowds as well as new scenarios derived from built environments. To address the question of the importance of heterogeneity in locomotion biomechanics, I define tiers of impact in the multi-agent crowds model at the steering layer--from the action space, to the agent space, to the crowds space. To this end, additional models and layers are developed to address the modelling and application of heterogeneous locomotion biomechanics in synthetic crowds. The results of both studies form a research arc which shows that the biomechanics in steering models provides important fidelity in several applications and that heterogeneity in the model of locomotion biomechanics directly impacts both qualitative and quantitative synthetic crowds outcomes. As well, systems, approaches, and pitfalls regarding the analysis of steering model and human mobility diversity are described

Generative Modeling of Human Behavior: Social Interaction and Networked Coordination in Shared Facilities

Urbanization is bringing together various modes of transport, and with that, there are challenges to maintaining the safety of all road users, especially vulnerable road users (VRUs). Therefore, there is a need for street designs that encourages cooperation and resource sharing among road users. Shared space is a street design approach that softens the demarcation of vehicles and pedestrian traffic by reducing traffic rules, traffic signals, road markings, and regulations. Understanding the interactions and trajectory formations of various VRUs will facilitate the design of safer shared spaces. It will also lead to many applications, such as implementing reliable ad hoc communication networks. In line with this motivation, this dissertation develops a methodology for generating VRUs\u27 trajectories that accounts for their walking behaviors and social interactions. The performed study leads to three traffic scenarios covering most pedestrian behavior and interactions traffic scenarios - group interactions, fixed obstacle interaction, and moving obstacle interaction. To implement the different scenarios in shared space facilities, we develop a receding horizon optimization-based trajectory planning algorithm capable of modeling pedestrian behavior and interactions. The generated trajectories are validated using two benchmark pedestrian datasets – DUT and TrajNet++. The validation is shown to yield low or near-zero Mean Euclidean Distance and Final Displacement Error values supporting the performance validity of the proposed generative algorithm. We further demonstrate the application of generated trajectories to predict the communication network topology formation, which leads to a stable network formation when integrated within ad hoc protocols. The developed pedestrian trajectory planning algorithm can be expanded as a simulation framework to provide a more realistic demonstration of how pedestrians use traffic facilities and interact with their environment. Moreover, the model\u27s applicability is not limited to road traffic and shared spaces. It can find broader applications such as the emergency evacuation of buildings, large events, airports, and railway stations

Human Behavior Modeling and Human Behavior-aware Control of Automated Vehicles for Trustworthy Navigation

First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Professor Dawn Tilbury, for her constant guidance and encouragement. She has been extremely helpful in developing my technical, research, and personal skills and immensely supportive of my ideas and endeavors throughout graduate school. She has been an excellent mentor and has always been there in my time of need, encouraging and boosting my confidence when I needed them the most. I would like to specially thank my committee members and collaborators, Professors Lionel Robert and Jessie Yang, for their support and encouragement, right from the start of my graduate program. The multi-disciplinary nature of the research initiated by these three Professors is what first drew me towards pursuing a Ph.D. I would also like to thank my other committee members Professors Ilya Kolmanovsky and Ram Vasudevan, for providing their support and feedback that improved the dissertation. I would like to thank the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rackham Graduate School, and the University of Michigan for giving me the opportunity to pursue the doctoral degree and providing financial support during my time at the university. In addition, I would like to thank the Toyota Research Institute and the Automotive Research Center for providing financial assistance. I really appreciate the support I received from the MAVRIC lab members. The multi-disciplinary culture and environment that the Professors have fostered in the MAVRIC lab have deeply broadened my perspectives. Specically, I would like to thank Hebert Azevedo-Sa. He is usually the first person I discuss my ideas with and has been an excellent critique. I would also like to thank Connor Esterwood, Na Du, Qiaoning Zhang, and Huajing Zhao for the numerous discussions and help with my user studies; especially Connor, who took on a variety of roles to help with my user study|from an engineer to a tailor, to even a hidden driver. Outside of the University of Michigan, I would like to thank my undergraduate advisor, Professor Madhu M., and my internship advisor at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, Professor Saravanan Gurunathan. They encouraged me to pursue research and provided me with the necessary opportunities. A special thanks to Sajaysurya Ganesh, a close friend, and collaborator in my early research projects, with who I discuss ideas even now. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family and friends for supporting me during the past several years. My friends at Ann Arbor made life away from home much easier; they are like my second family. A long list of people from my Master's and Ph.D. programs at the University of Michigan has played an essential role in my graduate experience. Still, I would like to especially thank Sandipp Krishnan Ravi, Subramaniam Balakrishna, Rahasudha Kannan, and Paavai Pari for all their love and support. I will fondly remember my time at the University of Michigan and in Ann Arbor because of all of the people I encountered, the friends I made, and the experiences I had. My parents, wife, and extended family have all been incredibly supportive of the pursuit of my degree, and I am eternally grateful for their love and guidance.PHDMechanical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/169640/1/jskumaar_1.pd