Transitioning from Pandemic to Endemic Pedagogy: Redesigning Teaching and Learning

COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in 2020. A year later, we consider the shift and accept the necessity of continually re-imagining blended learning for life and work in the wake of COVID-19. This paper offers strategies initiated in teaching and learning at Middle East College, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, during and post-pandemic. This research also shows how these changes have affected students' learning. It involved three stages of Practise: Surviving during the pandemic without compromising on any loss of education, managing continuity, and accelerating the education system by using the opportunity. All students registered in the Civil Engineering Programme in the Spring 2020, Spring 2021, and Spring 2022 semesters were involved in this study. The teaching and learning practise was evaluated utilising quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative method involved the students' performance in the assessment and findings from the survey. The qualitative method includes online analysis of students' feedback through Blitz Survey and Module Evaluation Survey (MES) by the Quality Assurance Office (QAO). The results indicated the approach adopted was quite effective in enhancing students' learning. The findings support the intuition of teachers seeking to help their students become digitally fluent in creating better tools and methods to support effective blended teaching and learning

Evaluating active traffc management (ATM) strategies under non-recurring congestion: Simulation-based with benefit cost analysis case study

© 2020 by the authors. Dynamic hard shoulder running and ramp closure are two active traffic management (ATM) strategies that are used to alleviate highway traffic congestion. This study aims to evaluate the effects of these two strategies on congested freeways under non-recurring congestion. The study\u27s efforts can be considered in two parts. First, we performed a detailed microsimulation analysis to quantify the potential benefits of these two ATM strategies in terms of safety, traffic operation, and environmental impact. Second, we evaluated the implementation feasibility of these two strategies. The simulation results indicated that the implementation of the hard shoulder showed a 50%-57% reduction in delay, a 41%-44% reduction in fuel consumption and emissions, and a 15%-18% increase in bottleneck throughput. By contrast, the implementation of ramp closure showed a 20%-34% decrease in travel time, a 6%-9% increase in bottleneck throughput, and an 18%-32% reduction in fuel consumption and emissions. Eventually, both strategies were found to be economically feasible

Smart dynamic traffic monitoring and enforcement system

Enforcement of traffic rules and regulations involves a wide range of complex tasks, many of which demand the use of modern technologies. variable speed limits (VSL) control is to change the current speed limit according to the current traffic situation based on the observed traffic conditions. The aim of this study is to provide a simulation-based methodological framework to evaluate (VSL) as an effective Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) enforcement system. The focus of the study is on measuring the effectiveness of the dynamic traffic control strategy on traffic performance and safety considering various performance indicators such as total travel time, average delay, and average number of stops. United Arab Emirates (UAE) was selected as a case study to evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy. A micro simulation software package VISSIM with add-on module VisVAP is used to evaluate the impacts of VSL. It has been observed that VSL control strategy reduced the average delay time per vehicle to around 7%, travel time by 3.2%, and number of stops by 48.5%. Dynamic traffic control strategies also alleviated congestion by increasing the capacity of the bottleneck section and improving safety. Results of this study would act as a guidance for engineers and decision makers to new traffic control system implementation. © 2021 Tech Science Press. All rights reserved

Smart Dynamic Traffic Monitoring and Enforcement System

Enforcement of traffic rules and regulations involves a wide range of complex tasks, many of which demand the use of modern technologies. variable speed limits (VSL) control is to change the current speed limit according to the current traffic situation based on the observed traffic conditions. The aim of this study is to provide a simulation-based methodological framework to evaluate (VSL) as an effective Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) enforcement system. The focus of the study is on measuring the effectiveness of the dynamic traffic control strategy on traffic performance and safety considering various performance indicators such as total travel time, average delay, and average number of stops. United Arab Emirates (UAE) was selected as a case study to evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy. A micro simulation software package VISSIM with add-on module VisVAP is used to evaluate the impacts of VSL. It has been observed that VSL control strategy reduced the average delay time per vehicle to around 7%, travel time by 3.2%, and number of stops by 48.5%. Dynamic traffic control strategies also alleviated congestion by increasing the capacity of the bottleneck section and improving safety. Results of this study would act as a guidance for engineers and decision makers to new traffic control system implementation

Evaluating Active Traffic Management (ATM) Strategies under Non-Recurring Congestion: Simulation-Based with Benefit Cost Analysis Case Study

Dynamic hard shoulder running and ramp closure are two active traffic management (ATM) strategies that are used to alleviate highway traffic congestion. This study aims to evaluate the effects of these two strategies on congested freeways under non-recurring congestion. The study’s efforts can be considered in two parts. First, we performed a detailed microsimulation analysis to quantify the potential benefits of these two ATM strategies in terms of safety, traffic operation, and environmental impact. Second, we evaluated the implementation feasibility of these two strategies. The simulation results indicated that the implementation of the hard shoulder showed a 50%–57% reduction in delay, a 41%–44% reduction in fuel consumption and emissions, and a 15%–18% increase in bottleneck throughput. By contrast, the implementation of ramp closure showed a 20%–34% decrease in travel time, a 6%–9% increase in bottleneck throughput, and an 18%–32% reduction in fuel consumption and emissions. Eventually, both strategies were found to be economically feasible. Document type: Articl

Multicriteria Decision Making Approach to Support Adoption of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles

Connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV) have recently attracted policymakers, manufacturers, and customers' attention. Despite their numerous benefits, CAVs still have to overcome many challenges related to the implementation and market penetration. When not dominated by financial constraints, the CAV adoption heavily depends on how policymakers and the government address the other challenges, including public perception, rules, and regulations. This study aims at formulating recommendations to support decision-makers in choosing the most appropriate and sustainable strategy to implement CAV technology. To do so, key barriers were first identified based on the literature review and discussions with decision-makers. Moreover, long-term adoption of CAV technologies in alternative future scenarios is developed. Multicriteria decision-making analysis was conducted to weigh these barriers and rank different strategies of CAV implementation. The transportation system of the Sultanate of Oman was used as a study case. It was found that the lack of technical skills and policies/regulations are the main barriers to the adoption of CAV technologies. To overcome these barriers, suggested strategies include establishing low-cost and short-term solutions, providing training to transportation professionals, and investing in statewide radio communications/IoT for emergency responses

Transitioning from Pandemic to Endemic Pedagogy: Redesigning Teaching and Learning

COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in 2020. A year later, we consider the shift and accept the necessity of continually re-imagining blended learning for life and work in the wake of COVID-19. This paper offers strategies initiated in teaching and learning at Middle East College, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, during and post-pandemic. This research also shows how these changes have affected students' learning. It involved three stages of Practise: Surviving during the pandemic without compromising on any loss of education, managing continuity, and accelerating the education system by using the opportunity. All students registered in the Civil Engineering Programme in the Spring 2020, Spring 2021, and Spring 2022 semesters were involved in this study. The teaching and learning practise was evaluated utilising quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative method involved the students' performance in the assessment and findings from the survey. The qualitative method includes online analysis of students' feedback through Blitz Survey and Module Evaluation Survey (MES) by the Quality Assurance Office (QAO). The results indicated the approach adopted was quite effective in enhancing students' learning. The findings support the intuition of teachers seeking to help their students become digitally fluent in creating better tools and methods to support effective blended teaching and learning

Toward the improvement of traffic incident management systems using Car2X technologies

© 2020, Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature. In addition to their environmental impact, road traffic congestions have been recognized to seriously affect commuters’ safety as well as the performance of transportation systems. To address these issues, various Traffic Incident Management (TIM) systems have been implemented. Recent systems are particularly focusing on the integration of promising emergent technologies such as the Internet of Things. However, thorough studies are still necessary to make sure that these technologies are compatible with existing systems and effective within their context of use. The main goal of this research is to develop a smart TIM system which is based on Car2X communications and which aims at improving both traffic safety, commuters’ mobility, and gas emissions. To assess the effectiveness of our solution, we use the following measures: stops delay, stops all, vehicle delay, travel time, gas emissions, and fuel consumption. This paper also outlines how we use our simulation platform (which was developed based on VISSIM and Python) to quantify the benefits of using Car2X communications. We run our simulations on Muscat Expressway in the Sultanate of Oman. Results are promising and include (1) the travel time decreased by 6%; (2) the average stop delay and vehicle stops were reduced by at least 9% and 27% respectively; and (3) there is a total decrease in fuel consumption and carbon monoxide emissions by approximately 16%