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This study presents a novel, machine-learning-based Automatic Incident Detection (AID) system for freeways. Through a comprehensive analysis of existing AID systems, the paper identifies their limitations and key performance metrics. VISSIM, a traffic simulation software, is employed to generate diverse, realistic traffic data incorporating factors significantly impacting AID performance. The developed system utilizes an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) trained via RapidMiner software. The ANN is designed to learn and differentiate normal and incident traffic patterns. Training yields a Detection Rate (DR) of 95.6%, a False Alarm Rate (FAR) of 1.01%, and a Mean Time to Detection (MTTD) of 0.89 min. Testing demonstrates continued effectiveness with a DR of 100%, a FAR of 1.29%, and a MTTD of 1.6 min. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to assess the influence of individual factors on system performance. Based on these findings, recommendations for enhancing AID systems are provided, promoting improved traffic safety and incident management. This research empowers transportation authorities with valuable insights to implement effective incident detection strategies, ultimately contributing to safer and more efficient freeways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cracks in asphalt mixtures compromise the structural integrity of roads, increase maintenance costs, and shorten pavement lifespan. These cracks allow for water infiltration, accelerating pavement deterioration and jeopardizing vehicle safety. This research aims to evaluate the impact of synthetic fibers, specifically glass fiber (GF) and polypropylene fiber (PPF), on the crack resistance of Hot-Mix Asphalt (HMA). An optimal asphalt binder content of 5% was used in all sample designs. Using the dry mixing technique, GFs and PPFs were incorporated into the HMA at dosages of 0.50%, 1.00%, and 1.50% by weight of the aggregate. The effects of these fibers on the mechanical fracture properties of the HMA were assessed using Semi-Circular Bending (SCB), Indirect Tensile Asphalt Cracking Tests (IDEAL-CTs), and Three-Point Bending (3-PB) tests. This study focused on fracture parameters such as fracture work, peak load, fracture energy, and crack indices, including the Flexibility Index (FI) and Crack Resistance Index (CRI). The results from the SCB and IDEAL-CT tests showed that increasing GF content from 0.5% to 1.5% significantly enhances the flexibility and crack resistance of HMA, with FI, CRI, and CT Index values increasing by 247.5%, 55%, and 101.35%, respectively. Conversely, increasing PPF content increases the mixture's stiffness and reduces its crack resistance. The PP-1 mixture exhibited higher FI and CT Index values, with increases of 31.1% and 10%, respectively, compared to the PP-0.5 mixture, based on SCB and IDEAL-CT test results. The SCB, IDEAL-CT, and 3-PB test results concluded that fibers significantly influence the fracture properties of bituminous mixtures, with a 1% reinforcement dosage of both PPFs and GFs being optimal for enhancing performance across various applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a consequence of human activity, waste generation is unavoidable, and its volume and complexity escalate with urbanization, economic progress, and the elevation of living standards in cities. Annually, the world produces about 2.01 billion tons of municipal solid waste, which often lacks environmentally safe management. The importance of solid waste management lies in its role in sustainable development, aimed at reducing the environmental harms from waste creation and disposal. With the expansion of urban populations, waste management systems grow increasingly complex, necessitating more sophisticated optimization strategies. This analysis thoroughly examines the optimization techniques used in solid waste management, assessing their application, benefits, and limitations by using PRISMA 2020. This study, reviewing the literature from 2010 to 2023, divides these techniques into three key areas: waste collection and transportation, waste treatment and disposal, and resource recovery, using tools like mathematical modeling, simulation, and artificial intelligence. It evaluates these strategies against criteria such as cost-efficiency, environmental footprint, energy usage, and social acceptability. Significant progress has been noted in optimizing waste collection and transportation through innovations in routing, bin placement, and the scheduling of vehicles. The paper also explores advancements in waste treatment and disposal, like selecting landfill sites and converting waste to energy, alongside newer methods for resource recovery, including sorting and recycling materials. In conclusion, this review identifies research gaps and suggests directions for future optimization efforts in solid waste management, emphasizing the need for cross-disciplinary collaboration, leveraging new technologies, and adopting tailored approaches to tackle the intricate challenges of managing waste. These insights offer valuable guidance for policymakers, waste management professionals, and researchers involved in crafting sustainable waste strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to survey students and faculty from the College of Engineering at an American university in the United Arab Emirates about their perception on different issues related to academic dishonesty. Opinions were sought on plagiarism, inappropriate collaboration, cheating on exams, copyright violations and complicity in academic dishonesty. Reasons for students to commit dishonest acts and ways to reduce academic misconduct were also included. Design/methodology/approach: A survey involving 11 questions with multiple choice answers was developed and distributed to engineering students and faculty at the institution to get their perception of the considered issues. Findings: Results of the study showed that while faculty and students were generally in agreement in their perception of the frequency of academic dishonesty among students, they greatly differed on the courses of action needed to reduce them. Most faculty members favored applying tougher penalties and using more proctors in exams. On the other hand, students preferred softer approaches such as educating them on academic integrity issues, applying lenient deadlines for assignments and reducing the difficulty of exams. Research limitations/implications: The conclusions and recommendations of the study are applicable to colleges of higher education having similar characteristics and culture to the surveyed institution. Practical implications The findings can be used to understand students' behavior and faculty's attitude toward academic dishonesty, and to assess the effectiveness of current strategies addressing the issue at similar universities in the region. Originality/value: The conducted literature review indicated that this work is believed to be a pioneering case study in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

The deterioration module (DM) is one of the four major modules necessary for any bridge management system (BMS). Environmental conditions, structural systems, bridge configuration, geographic location, and traffic data are some of the major factors that affect the development of deterioration modules. This emphasizes the need for the development of deterioration models that reflect the local conditions. In this article, some of the most important factors that could help in developing deterioration models in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) were identified. The research was conducted in three phases; in the first phase, an extensive literature search was conducted to identify factors adopted in different deterioration models, and in phase two, the most relevant factors to the GCC environment were selected and these factors were further reduced based on input from local bridge experts. The result from the second phase is a list of factors identified by the experts. The identified list was utilized in phase three, which was focused on conducting a survey targeting bridge engineers to help identify the final selection and rank the factors according to their importance level. The results indicate that steel reinforcement protection, design load, chloride attack, type of defect, and age are the most important factors impacting bridge deterioration in the GCC. In addition, the time of rehabilitation; average daily truck traffic, ADTT; and average daily traffic, ADT, are the second most important factors. Factors with medium importance level are deck protection, services under the bridge, and inspection gap. The least important set of factors include temperature and wind load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 m away from the main intersection. Also, RTUT showed superior performance over the other left-turn control types, when the U-turn locations are 100 m away from the main intersection. Key words: traffic signal optimization, indirect left-turns, microscopic simulation. La plupart des retards de l'ecoulement du trafic en zones urbaines se produisent aux carrefours a feux. En raison de la disponibilite limitee d'espace et de priorite, un bon nombre d'agences de transport envisagent des systemes de controle de la circulation non conventionnels pour des carrefours afin d'ameliorer l'efficacite de la signalisation et de reduire les retards en general. Les traitements de virage a gauche non conventionnels courants incluent le virage a droite suivi d'un demi-tour et le demi-tour suivi d'un virage a droite. Le but principal de cette etude est de determiner la performance operationnelle de la circulation des trois traitements de virage si gauche dans des conditions de circulation variees. Les resultats ont indique que les types de controles de virage a gauche non conventionnels donnent lieu a moins de retard et de temps de deplacement compare au virage a gauche direct, lorsque les emplacements du demi-tour sont a une distance de 200 metres du carrefour principal. Aussi, le virage a droite suivi d'un demi-tour a presente de meilleurs resultats de performance que les autres types de controles de virage a gauche, lorsque les emplacements du demi-tour sont a une distance de 100 metres du carrefour principal. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles: optimisation des feux de circulation, virages a gauche indirects, simulation microscopique., Introduction In most urban areas, traffic growth means higher delays at signalized intersections. As a solution to reduce traffic delays, oftentimes agencies add more lanes to reduce the delay. However, [...]

Purpose: The objective of this study is to get feedback on faculty perception of ethical issues related to teaching, scholarship and service at a relatively new American-style university in the Middle-East. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire involving 21 scenarios with multiple choice answers was developed and distributed to all faculty at the institution to get their opinion on the issues. The effects of faculty background, gender, rank, and administrative responsibilities on the obtained responses at the institution were considered. Findings: The findings include: about one-third of the faculty participants were unaware of the university's code of ethics; several of the faculty surveyed stated that they would ignore violations of an ethical code of conduct committed by colleagues; and there was no definite trend observed between the responses of faculty based on their discipline. Research limitations/implications: The study is based on a questionnaire; this implies that the faculty responses are mainly related to the questions posed in the questionnaire. Practical implications: The results of the study can be used by the higher administration at similar universities in the region in order to understand and assess faculty members' reaction to situations involving ethical behaviour. Originality/value: This work is believed to be the first on faculty perception of ethical behaviour at an institution of higher education in the Middle-East. (Contains 8 tables and 3 figures.)

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., 1. Introduction Dynamic Traffic Assignment (DTA) models are among the most effective tools for analysis and prediction of traffic conditions, especially in congested road networks. To provide accurate and reliable [...]

Engineering students at an American university in the Middle East were surveyed on various academic dishonesty issues in 2002 and a decade later. 135 students filled out the survey in 2002 and 588 students completed it in 2012. The study considered students' perception of plagiarism, inappropriate collaboration, cheating on exams, copyright violations, and complicity in academic dishonesty. Since 2002, the university developed a more comprehensive student academic integrity code, established an adjudication process for the code violators, introduced first-year students to the concept of academic integrity during their orientation, asked new students to sign an academic integrity pledge, encouraged faculty to clearly define academic integrity rules in their courses syllabi, and asked faculty to report violators of the code to the administration. This paper compares engineering students' perception of the frequency of academic misconduct in 2002 and a decade later. Results of the research showed that the taken measures by the institution to improve academic integrity have much greater effect on in-class exams than on out-of-class assignments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arab World countries are facing major challenges in Civil Engineering professional registration standardization due to the significant differences in the undergraduate curricula in these countries. This paper compared undergraduate civil engineering curricula in Arab countries. A review of the course requirements at 31 universities located in 19 countries was presented. Only universities that follow the American credit hour system are included in the study. Specifically, the study addressed degree requirements related to science, mathematics, general education, free electives, English language, engineering fundamentals, computer proficiency, required civil engineering courses, and technical electives. The study showed that the considered curricula took either 4 or 5 years to complete. The number of credit hours was found to be as little as 131 and as large as 204 credits. The humanities, social science and foreign language requirements at traditional universities were usually very low, whereas the same requirements were almost a full-year of study at Western-style Universities located in the same region. Some universities followed a track system, which provided for specialization in one of the various civil engineering disciplines. As a result, the curricula of such universities were loaded with a large number of obligatory technical courses. The Western style universities, on the other hand, were heavy on fundamentals, but gave the student more choices with regard to technical and free elective courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]