A genetic fuzzy system to model pedestrian walking path in a built environment

A study on the pedestrian's steering behaviour through a built environment in normal circumstances is presented in this paper. The study focuses on the relationship between the environment and the pedestrian's walking trajectory. Owing to the ambiguity and vagueness of the relationship between the pedestrians and the surrounding environment, a genetic fuzzy system is proposed for modelling and simulation of the pedestrian's walking trajectory confronting the environmental stimuli. We apply the genetic algorithm to search for the optimum membership function parameters of the fuzzy model. The proposed system receives the pedestrian's perceived stimuli from the environment as the inputs, and provides the angular change of direction in each step as the output. The environmental stimuli are quantified using the Helbing social force model. Attractive and repulsive forces within the environment represent various environmental stimuli that influence the pedestrian's walking trajectory at each point of the space. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed model, three experiments are conducted. The first experimental results are validated against real walking trajectories of participants within a corridor. The second and third experimental results are validated against simulated walking trajectories collected from the AnyLogic® software. Analysis and statistical measurement of the results indicate that the genetic fuzzy system with optimised membership functions produces more accurate and stable prediction of heterogeneous pedestrians' walking trajectories than those from the original fuzzy model. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmental Assessment of Rammed Earth Construction Systems

Present concerns for sustainable development have led to a revival of traditional building practices using natural or recycled resources. There is a perception that buildings constructed from such materials are environmentally benign. This perception is questionable, as often no evaluation is undertaken to assess the associated environmental impacts. Rammed earth is one such construction technology that has seen renewed interest in recent years. The energy required to manufacture materials (i.e. embodied energy) is a significant component of the life cycle energy associated with buildings. This paper assesses the embodied energy of rammed earth construction relative to brick veneer and cavity brick construction. Rammed earth was found to have significantly less embodied energy than cavity brick construction (to which it is closer in thermal performance), but was approximately equivalent to brick veneer construction. Topics of further research identified include thermal performance and strategies for reducing the embodied energy of cement used for earth stabilisation.

Personal, family, social, and environmental correlates of active commuting to school

Background: Active commuting to school may be an important opportunity for children to accumulate adequate physical activity for improved cardiovascular risk factors, enhanced bone health, and psychosocial well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine personal, family, social, and environmental correlates of active commuting to school among children. Methods: Cross-sectional study of 235 children aged 5 to 6 years and 677 children aged 10 to 12 years from 19 elementary schools in Melbourne, Australia. Self-administered questionnaires were completed by parents, and the older children. The shortest possible routes to school were examined using a geographic information system. Results: Among both age groups, negative correlates of active commuting to school included parental perception of few other children in the neighborhood and no lights or crossings for their child to use, and an objectively assessed busy road barrier en route to school. In younger children, an objectively assessed steep incline en route to school was negatively associated with walking or cycling to school. Good connectivity en route to school was negatively associated with walking or cycling to school among older children. Among both age groups, children were more likely to actively commute to school if their route was <800 meters. There were no associations with perceived energy levels or enjoyment of physical activity, weight status, or family factors. Conclusions: For children, creating child-friendly communities and providing skills to safely negotiate the environment may be important. Environmental correlates of active transport in children and adults may differ and warrant further investigation.

Green decisions : demographics and consumer understanding of environmental labels

This research examined the demographic profiles of Australian green consumers in relation to their satisfaction of environmental labelling. It examined consumers’ understanding of labelling and empirically investigated the association of demographic profile of consumers with their attitudes towards such labels. The results indicated that some of the demographic variables were significant, which is largely consistent with earlier findings by other researchers in this area. Label dissatisfaction was higher in the older and middle age respondents. However, some respondents disagreed that labels were accurate while commenting that labels were easy to understand. The key issue arising from the findings is that in order to provide perception of accuracy in labels, it is an option to use Type I or Type III labelling on products. These labels are, arguably, more credible because they are endorsed by third party labelling experts. This would come at a cost and for green products that use third party labelling, they will also have to bear in mind to keep the prices competitive.

Public environmental consumerism : recycling behaviour and its impact on intentions to purchase green products

Recycling behaviour has been used as indicators of green behavior since research has indicated that there is a positive relationship between environmental concern and ecologically responsible behavior such as recycling. The objective of this study is to find out if there is a difference between recyclers and non-recyclers and heavy and light recyclers with respect to their willingness to pay more for green products despite the perception of green products being of a lower quality in comparison to alternative products. The answers to this will help us to better understand environmentally conscious consumerism of both groups of consumers i.e. the light and heavy recyclers. The results indicate that willingness to pay somewhat higher prices and accepting somewhat lower quality of green products appears to be, generally, independent of recycling and non-recycling, as well as heavy and light recycling behaviour. It also addresses the implications of these findings for business managers.

Environmental attitudes and their relation to the dominant social paradigm among university students in New Zealand and Australia

This paper develops a causal model of environmental attitudes using measures of the dominant social paradigm of Western industrial societies. Four components of the DSP framework are examined with regard to environmental attitudes and perception of change using a sample of university students from Australia and New Zealand. The results indicate that one’s belief in the DSP has a negative effect on both environmental attitudes and perception of change necessary to ameliorate degradation of the environment. Thus, while public policy favors increasing awareness of and interest in the environment, policy instruments may remain ineffective in producing lasting change if the components of the DSP remain unchanged. It is argued that public policy ought to be directed at changing the DSP so that its negative effects will be minimized.

Environmental attitudes among university students In New Zealand and Australia

This paper develops a causal model of environmental attitudes using measures of the dominant social paradigm (DSP) of western industrial societies. Two components of the DSP framework beliefs in economic growth and anthropocentrism are examined regards to environmental attitudes using a sample of university students from Australia and New Zealand. The results indicate that one’s belief in the DSP has a negative effect on environmental attitudes and perception of change necessary ameliorate degradation of the environment. Thus, while public policy favors increasing awareness of and interest in the environment, policy instruments may remain ineffective in producing lasting change if the components of the DSP remain unchanged. It is argued that public policy ought to be directed at changing the DSP so that its negative
effects will be minimized.

Green bodies : training environmental educators

In this paper, we examine the “greening” of Outdoor & Environmental Education (OEE) students at an Australian regional university through three lenses: temporal, spatial & material. We are inspired by Grosz’ claim that “bodies are always understood within a spatial & temporal context, & space & time remain conceivable only insofar as corporeality provides the basis for our perception & representation of them” (1995, p. 84). As suggested by Grosz, these lenses are not discrete and, in the course of the paper, their intersections & reciprocity become apparent. We draw on interview responses & observations from a longitudinal cohort study undertaken by Preston in an attempt to trace the regulation and practice of “green” “outdoor Ed” subjectivities in the context of the materialities, time & spaces of this specific course. Grosz, E.A. (1995) Space, Time & Perversion: The Politics of Bodies, New York: Routledge

Fuzzy simulation of pedestrian walking path considering local environmental stimuli

Pedestrian steering activity is a perception-based decision making process that involves interaction with the surrounding environment and insight into environmental stimuli. There are many stimuli within the environment that influence pedestrian wayfinding behaviour during walking activities. However, compelling factors such as individual physical and psychological characteristics and trip intention cause the behaviour become a very fuzzy concept. In this paper pedestrian steering behaviour is modelled using a fuzzy logic approach. The objective of this research is to simulate pedestrian walking paths in indoor public environments during normal and non-panic situations. The proposed algorithm introduces a fuzzy logic framework to predict the impact of perceived attractive and repulsive stimuli, within the pedestrian's field of view, on movement direction. Environmental stimuli are quantified using the social force method. The algorithm is implemented in a simulated area of an office corridor consist of a printer and exit door. Stochastic simulation using the proposed fuzzy algorithm generated realistic walking trajectories, contour map of dynamic change of environmental effects in each step of movement and high flow areas in the corridor.

The influence of fiber diameter, fabric attributes and environmental conditions on wetness sensations of next-to-skin knitwear

This study investigated the relationships between the sensations of sweaty, damp, muggy and clingy, as assessed by human response from wearer trial garment assessment, and fiber type, fiber, yarn and fabric properties and instrumental fabric measurements of next-to-skin knitwear. Wearer trial assessment of 48 fabrics followed a strict 60 minute protocol including a range of environmental conditions and levels of exercise. Adjusted mean weighted scores were determined using linked garments. Instrumental fabric handle measurements were determined with the Wool HandleMeter (WHM) and Wool ComfortMeter. Data were analyzed using forward stepwise general linear modeling. Mean fiber diameter (MFD) affected the sweaty, damp, muggy and clingy sensation responses accounting for between 23.5% and 56.2% of the variance of these sensations. In all cases, finer fibers were associated with lower sensation scores (preferred). There were also effects of fiber type upon sweaty, muggy and clingy scores, with polyester fiber fabrics having higher scores (less preferred) compared with fabrics composed of wool, particularly for peak sweaty scores in hot and active environments. Attributes such as fabric density, yarn linear density, knitting structure and finishing treatments, but not fabric thickness, accounted for some further variance in these attributes once MFD had been taken into account. This is explained as finer fibers have a greater surface area for any given mass of fiber and so finer fibers can act as a more effective sink for moisture compared with coarser fibers. No fabric handle parameter or other attribute of fiber diameter distribution was significant in affecting these sensation scores.