Effect on Speed Distribution due to Intrusive and Non-Intrusive Portable Speed Measurement Devices

Accurate traffic data are essential for supporting a multitude of transportation related decisions which affect transportation system operations, management, and planning. Advanced technology offers us various alternatives for accurately collecting traffic data. But accuracy of data is not just about the mechanical accuracy of the device, but it also about how people react when they see these devices installed either on roads or off roads. It is very important that the drivers should not get affected by the presence of these devices as these devices are not always to control the speeds but they are also installed to measure the true speed of the drivers. Such studies are the basis for important decisions, such as setting speed limits, timing traffic signals, placing traffic signs, and determining the effectiveness of the countermeasures. To evaluate the effectiveness on speed distribution due to the presence of various intrusive and non-intrusive portable speed measurement devices, automated traffic counters with pneumatic tubes, Smartsensor, Autoscope with camera trailer and Lidar gun were compared. Results showed that drivers did not react to pneumatic tubes and continued driving at the same speed; there was no significant difference in speeds at different locations while pneumatic tubes were installed. Drivers tend to react most by reducing their speeds when a Lidar gun was used, the Autoscope with camera trailer also effected driver behavior to a considerable amount. There was slight increase in speeds when the Smartsensor was installed. Similar driver behavior was observed when effect on the speeds of faster drivers was evaluated. For this analysis drivers driving above 85th percentile speeds were picked and tracked throughout the test site. Drivers reacted most to Lidar guns and then to the Autoscope with camera trailer. There was no significant difference in speeds when pneumatic tubes were installed

Eco-friendly Hospitality in Himalayas: An Investigation on Homestay Services in India

The hospitality sector has been considered as an equal contributor to tourism impacts. As far as the sustainable destination development is concerned, there requires a balanced approach by the authorities for economic benefits and the benefits to the environment. Where the concept of homestays is attaining is popularity among tourists, the realization for its contribution to economic development to the local population is also important along with keeping in view that these hospitality services are aligned with eco-friendly practices, thereby reflecting upon the sustained life of the Himalayan tourism. Hence, the present study was conducted to inspect the part of home stay practices in local socio-economic growth of people and to examine if these practices are aligned with environmental safety. The study has been conducted in various regions of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim. The study revealed a requirement for the awareness and increase in knowledge among the homestay authorities for adopting the sustainable hospitality practices in regular service operations along with considering its benefits for local economic development

Flying in Travel Bubbles amidst the Covid Era: An Investigation on the Perceptions of Indian Tourists

The world was struck by an unparalleled health, social, and economic crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the travel and tourism industry was among the severely affected industries. In a \u27travel bubble\u27, a set of countries agree to open their borders to each other while the borders to all other countries are closed. This allowed the people to move freely within the bubble and helped to restore the inbound cash flow streams associated with international tourism and travel. The current research is framed to understand Indian tourists\u27 perception of travelling within available travel bubbles amidst the pandemic and to focus on the travel bubble concept from a post-COVID perspective

Exploring the Motivations of Millennials Opting for Temple Stays in India

Millennials are the most promising consumer segment of the tourism industry and the fast pace of development and emergence of newer trends has led to a drastic change in consumer behaviour. Temple Stays are emerging as a significant source of tourism for sites that are transforming traditional religious practices into a complete hybrid of leisure and recreation. Considering this, the current research is framed to analyse the factors that motivate Millennials to undertake spiritual tourism activities, with special focus on Temple Stay programs at various Buddhist sites / monasteries in India and the revisit intentions of Millennials. The research is qualitative in nature - semi-structured interviews were conducted virtually with suitable respondents. Only those respondents who have stayed for 7 days or more in temples-stays were targeted by using purposive sampling techniques. The data were analysed using NVivo (12) and in order to achieve the objectives of the study thematic and content analysis were applied. The study identifies four motivational factors for Temple Stays, including comprehensive learning, self-growth, harmonising with nature, and spirituality. Analysis also revealed that travel motivations have a significant impact on life satisfaction among Millennials tourists that further reflects their revisit intentions to Temple Stays. The results of the present study will be helpful in realising the emerging market segment of tourism which is Millennials. Also, the study helps to provide a theoretical contribution by reflecting on the overall relationship between the various dimensions of spiritual tourism, life satisfaction and intention to adopt spiritual tourism practices again

Day time variations in noise levels at major crossings of Jammu city, India

The present study has been carried to assess Equivalent noise level (Leq), Noise climate (NC), Traffic noise index (TNI) and Day Time Average Noise level from7.00 A.M. to 9.00 P.M (Ld) at eleven major crossings of Jammu City. The Leq and Ld values at all the sites were observed to be above permissible limits prescribed by CPCB. The calculated values of Ld at all the sites were observed to be statistically significant at 0.05 (5%) level of significance (p=0.000-0.004)

A cross-sectional study to evaluate the effect of subjective sleep quality on autonomic functions in different age groups of adults

Background: Poor sleep quality adversely affects the person’s homeostasis via combination of impairments to multiple physiological-mechanisms. Autonomic functions are important for different aspects of health and disease. Objective of study was to analyze the impact of subjective sleep quality on autonomic functions in different age groups of adults.Methods: A total of 375 apparently healthy adults from community were randomly selected for this cross-sectional observational study. They were divided into three groups based on the age distributions: Group 1: 18-30 years (n = 146); Group 2: 31-45 years (n = 112); and Group 3: 46-60 years (n = 117). Following assessments were done in all the participants in three groups: Anthropometric measurements, Pittsburgh Sleep-quality Index (PSQI), Electrocardiography (ECG), Autonomic functions based on frequency domain heart rate variability (HRV).  Two-way analysis of variance followed by post hoc analysis was done for intergroup comparisons of all assessment characteristics. Spearman’s correlation was done to find the correlation coefficients between PSQI scoring and all other parameters mentioned above.Results: BMI, GPSQIS, SSQS, SDS and SMS were observed more in group2 and 3 as compared to group1, whereas SD and SE were more in group1 as compared to group 2 and 3. HF, Total Power and RR were more in group 1 as compared to group 3, whereas VLF and HR were less in group 1 as compared to group 3. LF/HF ratio and HR were more in group 3 as compared to group 2, whereas HF was more in group 2 as compared to group 3. There was statistically significant negative correlation between GPSQI and Total power, SMS and HF, SIT and HF, SD and LF/HF ratio, whereas statistically significant positive correlation between SMS and LF, SMS and LF/HF ratio, SIT and LF, SIT and LF/HF ratio, SD and total power as well as SE and total power.Conclusions: Ageing in adults affects the sleep-quality, reduces the sleep duration and decreases the sleep efficiency; these contribute to autonomic dysfunction as increased sympathetic activity and decreased parasympathetic activity in older adults as compared to younger adults

Bis(2-methyl-4-nitro­anilinium) tetra­chloridomercurate(II)

The title compound, (C7H9N2O2)2[HgCl4], self-assembles into cationic organic bilayers containing the 2-methyl-4-nitro­anilinium cations, sandwiched between anionic inorganic layers built up by the distorted tetra­hedral [HgCl4]2− groups. The organic sheets are inter­linked through weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, while they inter­act with the anionic part via strong charge-assisted N+—H⋯Cl—Hg hydrogen bonds. The [HgCl4]2− anions are bis­ected by a mirror plane passing through the metal and two of the chloride ions