Engineering Students’ Perception of Academic Dishonesty at an American University in the Middle East

This study surveys engineering students’ perception of academic integrity at a private American university in the Middle East. The survey included questions on plagiarism, inappropriate collaboration, cheating on exams, copyright violations, and complicity in academic dishonesty. The study showed that more than one-third of the students were not aware that the university has a student academic integrity code. The gender appears to affect the students’ perception of academic dishonesty, as the female students perceived more frequent cheating than males. Also, about 10% of the female students, compared to about 30% of the male students, see no relationship between morality and academic integrity. The main reason why students cheat was because they had little time to do the work without seeking unauthorized help and because they perceive cheating as a form of collaborative work. Students believed that one of the most effective ways in reducing incidences of academic dishonesty is using more proctors during exams

Faculty perception of engineering student cheating and effective measures to curb it

© 2019 IEEE. Engineering faculty were surveyed on issues related to academic dishonesty by students affiliated with their college at an American university located in the United Arab Emirates. The survey addressed perceived frequency of plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, cheating, copyright violations and complicity in academic integrity. As expected, the majority of the faculty think that dishonesty is more common in-of-class work compared to proctored exams. They think that applying tougher penalties and using more proctors are the most effective methods in decreasing academic dishonesty. The authors believe that it would be helpful if faculty members follow the university\u27s policy on cheating rather than make up their own rules in order to have consistent approach in dealing with academic dishonesty violations across the whole university. Ideally, the best way to combat dishonest acts at an institution is by educating students through seminars and workshops about the virtues of academic integrity and the benefits it brings to society. But until our campuses become free of dishonest behavior by students, some practical measures should be undertaken by the faculty to safeguard the institution against unethical behavior by students. For example, faculty members are recommended to either make their own assignments or modify the end-of-chapter problems from textbooks because students may have access to solution manuals. They are encouraged to give different homework problems and projects from one semester to another since students may have access to graded past work. While test banks provided to faculty by publishers may be used as a guide when creating exams, problems from such sources should not be put verbatim on exams by faculty because they are often available for purchase by students on the internet. Furthermore, the weight of-of-class assignments relative to the total course grade should be a small fraction of the total weight to discourage students from cheating on homework. Wireless signal jamming devices can combat some acts of e-cheating that utilizes the internet by disrupting communication between a smart phone and the cell-phone base station

Dynamic O-D demand estimation: Application of SPSA AD-PI method in conjunction with different assignment strategies

This paper examines the impact of applying dynamic traffic assignment (DTA) and quasi-dynamic traffic assignment (QDTA) models, which apply different route choice approaches (shortest paths based on current travel times, User Equilibrium: UE, and system optimum: SO), on the accuracy of the solution of the offline dynamic demand estimation problem. The evaluation scheme is based on the adoption of a bilevel approach, where the upper level consists of the adjustment of a starting demand using traffic measures and the lower level of the solution of the traffic network assignment problem. The SPSA AD-PI (Simultaneous Perturbation Stochastic Approximation Asymmetric Design Polynomial Interpolation) is adopted as a solution algorithm. A comparative analysis is conducted on a test network and the results highlight the importance of route choice model and information for the stability and the quality of the offline dynamic demand estimations

Roundabout or traffic signal: a selection dilemma

At-grade intersections are one of the vital elements in any road network. Traffic control for at-grade intersections plays a significant role in the level of delay experienced by the vehicles on the road network. Traffic signals and roundabout control are the most common types of at-grade intersection control. Many transportation planners around the world debate the selection between these two types of control for a new at-grade intersection. The aim of this research is to provide some guidelines for selecting one of the two types of control for some at-grade intersections. The research utilized the well-known software packages of Synchro and Sidra to evaluate the performance of traffic signals and roundabouts, respectively. The experimental work considered a four leg at-grade intersection that was operated under different traffic congestion levels and different traffic distribution percentages. The research results indicated that roundabouts are recommended for small traffic volumes while traffic signals are proven to be more suitable for high traffic volumes

A Systematic Review of Traffic Incident Detection Algorithms

Traffic incidents have negative impacts on traffic flow and the gross domestic product of most countries. In addition, they may result in fatalities and injuries. Thus, efficient incident detection systems have a vital role in restoring normal traffic conditions on the roads and saving lives and properties. Researchers have realized the importance of Automatic Incident Detection (AID) systems and conducted several studies to develop AID systems to quickly detect traffic incidents with an acceptable performance level. An incident detection system mainly consists of two modules: a data collection module and a data processing module. The performance of AID systems is assessed using three performance measures; Detection Rate (DR), False Alarm Rate (FAR) and Mean Time to Detect (MTTD). Based on data processing and incident detection algorithms, AID can be categorized into four categories: comparative, statistical, artificial intelligence-based and video–image processing algorithms. The aim of this paper is to investigate and summarize the existing AID systems by assessing their performance, strengths, limitations and their corresponding data collection and data processing techniques. This is useful in highlighting the shortcomings of these systems and providing potential solutions that future research should focus on. The literature is sought through an extensive review of the existing refereed publications using the Google Scholar search engine and Scopus database. The methodology adopted for this research is a systematic literature review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. This study can serve as a reference for researchers who are interested in developing new AID systems

A Systematic Review of Traffic Incident Detection Algorithms

Traffic incidents have negative impacts on traffic flow and the gross domestic product of most countries. In addition, they may result in fatalities and injuries. Thus, efficient incident detection systems have a vital role in restoring normal traffic conditions on the roads and saving lives and properties. Researchers have realized the importance of Automatic Incident Detection (AID) systems and conducted several studies to develop AID systems to quickly detect traffic incidents with an acceptable performance level. An incident detection system mainly consists of two modules: a data collection module and a data processing module. The performance of AID systems is assessed using three performance measures; Detection Rate (DR), False Alarm Rate (FAR) and Mean Time to Detect (MTTD). Based on data processing and incident detection algorithms, AID can be categorized into four categories: comparative, statistical, artificial intelligence-based and video–image processing algorithms. The aim of this paper is to investigate and summarize the existing AID systems by assessing their performance, strengths, limitations and their corresponding data collection and data processing techniques. This is useful in highlighting the shortcomings of these systems and providing potential solutions that future research should focus on. The literature is sought through an extensive review of the existing refereed publications using the Google Scholar search engine and Scopus database. The methodology adopted for this research is a systematic literature review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. This study can serve as a reference for researchers who are interested in developing new AID systems

Impact of Using Indirect Left-turns on Signalized Intersections′ Performance

The majority of traffic delays in urban areas occur at signalized intersections. Due to the limited availability of space and right-of-way, many transportation agencies are considering unconventional traffic control systems for intersections to improve signal efficiency and reduce overall delays. Common unconventional left-turn treatments include the right-turn followed by a U-turn (RTUT) and a U-turn followed by a right-turn (UTRT). The main goal of this study is to determine the traffic operational performance of the three left-turn treatments under different traffic conditions. The results showed that unconventional left-turn control types have less delay and travel time compared to the direct left-turn (DLT), when the U-turn locations are 200 meters away from the main intersection. Also, RTUT showed superior performance over the other left-turn control types, when the U-turn locations are 100 meters away from the main intersection.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Effect of Aggregate Type and Specimen Configuration on Concrete Compressive Strength

In this paper, concrete mixes utilizing two sizes of natural aggregate and two sources of lightweight and recycled aggregates were used to investigate the effect of aggregate type and specimen size and shape on the compressive strength of concrete. In addition, samples from ready-mix concrete producers with different strengths were evaluated using standard size cylinders and cubes. Results were obtained on the 7th, 28th, and 90th day. In addition, flexural strength, split tension, and modulus of elasticity were evaluated on the 28th and 90th day. Statistical analyses were conducted to examine the significance of the difference between the compressive strength values for each two mixes using tests of hypotheses. Moreover, other mechanical properties as a function of compressive strength were discussed and compared to those predicated by the American Concrete Institute (ACI) specifications. Results indicate specimen shape has a noticeable effect on the compressive strength as the Cylinder/Cube ratio on the 90th day was ranging between 0.781 and 0.929. The concrete compressive strength and modulus of elasticity were significantly affected by the aggregate type. The flexural strength and split tensile strength were less affected by the aggregate type, which was also confirmed by the values predicted with the ACI equations

Impacts of Various Parameters on Transit Signal Priority Effectiveness

This research examines the impacts of a number of traffic parameters on the effectiveness of a Transit Signal Priority (TSP) application. TSP is tested with the 98 B-line rapid buses along Granville Street in the City of Vancouver as a case study. VISSIM, a micro-simulation software (PTV 2002), is used to simulate TSP operation on the corridor. The traffic parameters studied include: bus approach volume, cross street volume/ capacity (v/c) ratio, bus headway, bus stop location, bus check-in detector location, left turn condition, and signal coordination. Based on results from these experiments, recommendations are provided for TSP application on Granville Street. In general, it is found that a TSP application would be most effective under a traffic condition that has moderate-to-heavy bus approach volume, little or no turning volume hindering bus movement, slight-to-moderate cross street v/c ratio, farside bus stop, and signal coordination for traffic running in the peak direction