PLOS ONE: [sortOrder=DATE_NEWEST_FIRST, sort=Date, newest first, q=subject:"Transportation"]PLOShttps://journals.plos.org/plosone/webmaster@plos.orgaccelerating the publication of peer-reviewed sciencehttps://journals.plos.org/plosone/search/feed/atom?sortOrder=DATE_NEWEST_FIRST&unformattedQuery=subject:%22Transportation%22&sort=Date,+newest+firstAll PLOS articles are Open Access.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/resource/img/favicon.icohttps://journals.plos.org/plosone/resource/img/favicon.ico2024-03-28T11:35:54ZThe influence of biased technical progress on employment scale of the circulation industry: Evidence from ChinaZhenqiu WuBiqing YueYue DaiYujin GeGuangmei LuFei Zu10.1371/journal.pone.03001262024-03-26T14:00:00Z2024-03-26T14:00:00Z<p>by Zhenqiu Wu, Biqing Yue, Yue Dai, Yujin Ge, Guangmei Lu, Fei Zu</p>
As a leading industry in the national economy, circulation industry can not only guide production and consumption, but also play a vital role in absorbing employment. With the progress of science and technology, technical change has penetrated into the circulation industry of China, which has not only improved its development, but also affected its employment. This paper uses the standardized supply-side system approach to measure the biased technical progress of circulation industry in China and investigates the influence of the biased technical progress index on the employment scale of circulation industry in China with panel regression model. We find that the overall technical progress in China’s circulation industry during 2004–2018 is biased toward capital, and the elasticity of substitution between capital and labor is less than 1. We also find capital-biased technical progress in China’s circulation industry is negatively related to the overall employment scale of circulation industry. The heterogeneity analysis indicates that the employment of non-state-owned units in circulation industry is significantly negatively affected by capital-biased technical progress, while state-owned units doesn’t.Urban transportation system toughness assessment under New Crown epidemicsTianjun FengXubin Zeng10.1371/journal.pone.03006522024-03-25T14:00:00Z2024-03-25T14:00:00Z<p>by Tianjun Feng, Xubin Zeng</p>
Since the concept of toughness was introduced to transportation systems, transportation system toughness has received extensive attention from researchers in the field of transportation worldwide. In this paper, a methodology for quantifying and assessing the toughness of urban transportation systems is proposed in the context of the New Crown epidemic. Firstly, the definition of urban transportation system toughness in this context is clarified, and the entropy evaluation method is applied to construct the performance curve of urban transportation systems over time. Then, it is proposed to quantify the system’s resistance, recovery, and adaptive ability in terms of the change in the cumulative amount of system performance. Finally, the three characteristic abilities of system toughness are organically combined to obtain a comprehensive assessment of system toughness. Example calculations and analyses are carried out in four Chinese cities with different levels of development, and the results show that the performance of urban transportation systems is positively correlated with their levels of development, and all of them fluctuate greatly under the influence of the epidemic, but Wuhan has the strongest resistance and recovery ability of the transportation system, and shows the highest toughness, followed by Lanzhou, Changchun, and Shanghai. The system toughness quantification and assessment methods proposed in this paper provide a reference for research on improving the ability of urban transportation systems to deal with multiple uncertainty disturbances.Propagation and control of congestion risk in scale-free networks based on information entropyHuining YanHua LiQiubai SunYuxi Jiang10.1371/journal.pone.03004222024-03-22T14:00:00Z2024-03-22T14:00:00Z<p>by Huining Yan, Hua Li, Qiubai Sun, Yuxi Jiang</p>
To study the propagation pattern of congestion risk in the traffic network and enhance risk control capabilities, a model has been developed. This model takes into account the probabilities of five threats (the risk occurrence probability; the risk of loss; the unpredictability of risk; the uncontrollability of risk; the transferability of risk) in the traffic network to define the risk entropy and determine the risk capacity, analyze the mechanism of congestion risk propagation, and explore the impact of risk resistance, the average degree of risk capacity at intersections, and the degree of correlation on congestion risk propagation. Further, a control method model for risk propagation is proposed. Numerical simulation results demonstrate that the risk resistance parameter <i>θ</i> can inhibit the propagation of congestion risk during traffic congestion. The highest efficiency in controlling risk propagation is achieved when <i>θ</i> reaches a threshold value <i>θ</i>*. Furthermore, the average degree of intersection risk capacity <i>α</i> shows a positive correlation with <i>θ</i>* and a negative correlation with control efficiency. However, the degree of association <i>ω</i> has a negative effect on risk propagation control, decreasing the degree of association between nodes aids in risk propagation control.Application of a text mining method in navigation and communication for enhancing maritime safetyPaulina Hatłas-SowińskaLeszek Misztal10.1371/journal.pone.02995822024-03-22T14:00:00Z2024-03-22T14:00:00Z<p>by Paulina Hatłas-Sowińska, Leszek Misztal</p>
This paper introduces a model for the translation of natural language into ontology and vice versa in an autonomous navigation system of a sea-going vessel. The system comprehensively executes communication tasks at sea. The authors use machine learning methods in the field of text mining and basic and additional properties of ontologies. The newly developed ontology is applicable in shipping. The key elements of the prototype are the sequence of communication commands given from the ship’s bridge, decomposition, extraction of the communication sequence and the rule base. The presented model has been implemented and verified in selected scenarios of collision situations at sea. The test results confirm that the assumptions, the designed system architecture and the algorithms in the prototype are correct.Collaborative optimization model and algorithm for airport capacity and traffic flow allocationPeinan HeWeijun Pan10.1371/journal.pone.02985402024-03-22T14:00:00Z2024-03-22T14:00:00Z<p>by Peinan He, Weijun Pan</p>
How to efficiently utilize the existing airport capacity without physical expansion and considerable economic inputs to meet air traffic needs is one of the important tasks of air traffic management. To improve the efficiency of capacity utilization, it is necessary to find the actual airport capacity properly. In this work, taking Shuangliu International Airport as an example, a methodology for capacity estimation is proposed that combines the empirical method with an analytical approach that uses historical performance data from the airport to construct a capacity envelope to approximate the airport’s actual capacity to the greatest extent, establishes a collaborative optimization model that reflects the inherent relations between airport capacity and arrival and departure traffic demand, adopts an improved optimization algorithm to solve the model, and generates an optimal flight allocation scheme. Priority ratio is introduced to dynamically adjust management preferences for arrival and departure traffic demand to further reveal the synergy mechanism between departure and arrival traffic flow demand and the airport capacity. The result shows that the Flight On-time Performance rate is lifted by 6% in the case study which proves the feasibility of the proposed method, demonstrating its value for maximizing airport capacity and traffic flow demand without requiring expansions on airport scales.Population, distribution, biomass, and economic value of Equids in EthiopiaGirma Birhan AsterayeGina PinchbeckTheodore Knight-JonesKlara SavilleWudu TemesgenAlemayehu HailemariamJonathan Rushton10.1371/journal.pone.02953882024-03-22T14:00:00Z2024-03-22T14:00:00Z<p>by Girma Birhan Asteraye, Gina Pinchbeck, Theodore Knight-Jones, Klara Saville, Wudu Temesgen, Alemayehu Hailemariam, Jonathan Rushton</p>
Background <p>Equids play a crucial role in the Ethiopian economy, transporting agricultural inputs and outputs in the dominant subsistence agricultural systems and the critical link for value chains throughout the country. However, these species are often neglected in policies and interventions, which reflects the data and information gaps, particularly the contribution of working equids to Ethiopia.</p> Objective <p>To assess population dynamics, distribution, biomass, and economic value of equids in Ethiopia.</p> Materials and methods <p>Equine population data were obtained from the Ethiopian Central Statistics Agency (CSA) annual national agriculture surveys published yearbooks from 2004 to 2020. Parameters such as the number of effective service days and daily rental value were obtained from interviews and literature to estimate the stock monetary and service value of equids. Descriptive statistics were used to assess population dynamics and the geographical distribution was mapped.</p> Results <p>The estimated total Ethiopian equid population increased by more than doubled (by 131%) between 2004 and 2020 from 5.7 (4.9–6.6) million to 13.3 (11.6–15) million with 2.1 million horses, 10.7 million donkeys, and 380 thousand mules. Similarly, the number of households owning a working equid has increased. Equine populations are unevenly distributed across Ethiopia, although data were lacking in some districts of the country. The per human-capita equine population ranged from 0–0.52, 0–0.13, and 0–0.02 for donkeys, horses, and mules, respectively. The equid biomass was 7.4 (6.3–8.4) million Tropical livestock unit (TLU) (250 kg liveweight), 10% of total livestock biomass of the country. The stock monetary value of equids was USD 1,229 (651–1,908) million, accounting for 3.1% of total livestock monetary value and the services value of equids was USD 1,198 (825–1,516) million, which is 1.2% of Ethiopian 2021 expected GDP.</p> Conclusion <p>The Ethiopian equine population has grown steadily over the last two decades. Equids play a central role in transportation and subsistence agriculture in Ethiopia and contribute significantly to the national economy. This pivotal role is insufficiently recognized in national livestock investments.</p>The first Neolithic boats in the Mediterranean: The settlement of La Marmotta (Anguillara Sabazia, Lazio, Italy)Juan F. GibajaMario MineoFrancisco Javier SantosBerta MorellLaura Caruso-FerméGerard RemolinsAlba MasclansNiccolò Mazzucco10.1371/journal.pone.02997652024-03-20T14:00:00Z2024-03-20T14:00:00Z<p>by Juan F. Gibaja, Mario Mineo, Francisco Javier Santos, Berta Morell, Laura Caruso-Fermé, Gerard Remolins, Alba Masclans, Niccolò Mazzucco</p>
Navigation in the Mediterranean in the Neolithic is studied here through the boats that were used, the degree of technical specialisation in their construction and, above all, their chronology. After a brief explanation of the exceptional site of La Marmotta, the characteristics and chronology of the five canoes found at the settlement and one of the nautical objects linked to Canoe 1 are discussed. This will allow a reflection on the capability of Neolithic societies for navigation owing to their high technological level. This technology was an essential part in the success of their expansion, bearing in mind that in a few millennia they occupied the whole Mediterranean from Cyprus to the Atlantic seaboard of the Iberian Peninsula.Built environment and physical activity in adolescents: Use of the kernel density estimation and the walkability indexIsabella Toledo CaetanoRogério César FerminoRenato de Oliveira FalcãoPaulo Roberto dos Santos Amorim10.1371/journal.pone.02996282024-03-19T14:00:00Z2024-03-19T14:00:00Z<p>by Isabella Toledo Caetano, Rogério César Fermino, Renato de Oliveira Falcão, Paulo Roberto dos Santos Amorim</p>
The availability of places for physical activity (PA) and the walkability of the neighborhood can impact the level of PA of adolescents. However, studies of this nature are still limited in Latin America. This study had two objectives: 1- using kernel density estimative, it investigated whether individuals living near PA places that are more intensely distributed than dispersed are more likely to be sufficiently active; 2—checked whether adolescents who live in neighborhoods with better walkability have a greater chance of being sufficiently active. Were evaluated 292 adolescents and PA was measured by accelerometry. Were measured five environmental variables for composing the walkability index. 98 PA points (places) were identified and destinations within these areas were geocoded and kernel density estimates (KDE) of places intensity were created using kernels (radius) of 400m (meters), 800, 1200 and 1600m. Using Logistic Regression, the association between the intensity of PA places (classified into quartiles Q1(smallest)—Q4(largest)) and the probability of being "Sufficient PA"; and the association between walkability (quartiles Q1(least)—Q4(highest)) and the probability of being "PA Sufficient " were estimated (p≤0.05). There were associations only for the intensities of places with the largest radius. Among adolescents who lived in places with higher intensity compared with lower intensity places: 1200m (Q3, OR 2.18 95% CI 1.12–4.22; Q4, OR 2.77 95% CI 1.41–5.43) and 1600m (Q3, OR 3.68 95%CI 1.86–7.30; Q4, OR 3.69 95%CI 1.86–7.30) were more likely to be "Sufficient PA". There were also associations for walkability, where those living in places with better walkability (Q4, OR 2.58 95% CI 1.33–5.02) had greater chances of being "Sufficient PA" compared to Q1. In conclusion, living in places with bigger densities and better walkability increases adolescent’s chances of being "Sufficient PA".How teleworking adoption is changing the labor market and workforce dynamics?Yousif ElsamaniYuya Kajikawa10.1371/journal.pone.02990512024-03-19T14:00:00Z2024-03-19T14:00:00Z<p>by Yousif Elsamani, Yuya Kajikawa</p>
This article investigates how teleworking adoption influenced the labor market and workforce dynamic using bibliometric methods to overview 86 years of teleworking research [1936–2022]. By grouping the retrieved articles available on the Web of Science (WOS) core collection database, we revealed a holistic and topical view of teleworking literature using clustering and visualization techniques. Our results reflect the situation where the adoption of teleworking in the last three years was accelerated by the pandemic and facilitated by innovation in remote work technologies. We discussed the factors influencing one’s decision to join the workforce or a specific company, besides the unintended consequences of the rapid adoption of teleworking. The study can aid organizations in developing adequate teleworking arrangements, enhancing employee outcomes, and improving retention rates. Furthermore, it can help policymakers design more effective policies to support employees, improve labor force participation rates, and improve societal well-being.Participation and returns from informal service-oriented non-farm enterprises: Evidence from a survey of Nigerian householdsIkechukwu Darlington NwakaOkechukwu Lawrence Emeagwali10.1371/journal.pone.02987942024-03-18T14:00:00Z2024-03-18T14:00:00Z<p>by Ikechukwu Darlington Nwaka, Okechukwu Lawrence Emeagwali</p>
We investigate the factors that influence the selection and productivity of informal service-oriented family enterprises in Nigeria. Using nationally representative micro-data from the Nigerian General Household Survey (2010–2015), we employed random-effect probit and selectivity-adjusted regression models to estimate and analyze the results. The findings reveal that the location of informal Non-Farm Household Enterprises (NFHEs)–whether home-based or non-home-based—significantly impacts the wholesale, retail, personal, and consultancy service sectors operated by informal NFHEs. This impact remains significant even after accounting for variations in individuals, households, or locational characteristics. Furthermore, when considering selectivity in the earnings equation, we found that home-based informal enterprises exhibit lower productivity compared to non-home-based enterprises, a difference that varies across sectors. Overall, factors such as the gender of business owners, educational levels, geopolitical zones, infrastructure, and business characteristics play a crucial role in determining the locational and productivity disparities among service-oriented enterprises in Nigeria. Key recommendations stemming from this study include addressing gender-based segregation and economic disparities, prioritising financial inclusion for small business development, bridging infrastructure gaps, and implementing policies that acknowledge and bolster the informal sector.The impact of rivers and lakes on urban transportation expansion: A case study of the century-long evolution of the road network in Wuhan, ChinaRan PengKeyuan DingHaixu GuoXueliang LiuYehao LiuHuaiyang WengRui Li10.1371/journal.pone.02986782024-03-18T14:00:00Z2024-03-18T14:00:00Z<p>by Ran Peng, Keyuan Ding, Haixu Guo, Xueliang Liu, Yehao Liu, Huaiyang Weng, Rui Li</p>
Throughout history, rivers and lakes have wielded a profound influence on the dynamics of urban transportation expansion. To illustrate this phenomenon, we turn to the century-long evolution of the road network in Wuhan, China, as a case study. The study aims to explore the relationship framework between water bodies and urban transportation, characterized by the sequence of “strong connection” to “weakened connection”, then to “mutual restriction”, and ultimately to “mutual benefit”. Additionally, the analysis of the impact mechanisms of rivers and lakes on urban transportation at different stages of development is also a key research objective. To facilitate our exploration, we select the road networks in Wuhan from four years of 1922, 1969, 1995, and 2023 as the primary research subjects. By establishing water buffers, we scrutinize the evolving characteristics of riverside and lakeside transportation amidst the city’s expansion. Based on the modified shortest path model, we introduce the innovative concepts of “Detour Index” and “Weighted Detour Index” to assess the road accessibility of each node in the city based on its inherent environmental conditions. This allows for the effective analysis of the potential impact of water bodies as “obstacles” on the road network at different stages of urban development. The study found that in the areas adjacent to the rivers and lakes in Wuhan, there is insufficient road accessibility based on their inherent environmental conditions. Particularly, some areas along the rivers may become “terminals” in the urban road network. Furthermore, during the process of urban expansion, the correlation between the urban road network and rivers continues to weaken, while the correlation with lakes continues to strengthen. These conclusions can provide valuable insights for the planning of urban roads near water bodies.Preparing for heat risk is complex: Aligning adaptation and mitigation is essentialCandice Howarth10.1371/journal.pclm.00003712024-03-18T14:00:00Z2024-03-18T14:00:00Z<p>by Candice Howarth</p>Analyzing the determinants of beef cattle commercialization and Its market inefficiency: A case study of Pabna district, BangladeshFarjana EyasminBikash Chandra Ghosh10.1371/journal.pone.03000342024-03-15T14:00:00Z2024-03-15T14:00:00Z<p>by Farjana Eyasmin, Bikash Chandra Ghosh</p>
The world has entered a new era of globalization and industrialization, which pose several challenges to ensuring food security. Beef cattle production is one of the fastest-growing subsectors that has the capacity to meet protein demand. Due to growing demand of meat and protein and a market-oriented production system, small-scale beef cattle production contribute most to marginal farmers as a means of rising income in many developing nations like Bangladesh. Though production and commercialization are not easier for households’ due to various factors and a lack of market efficiency. To determine beef cattle commercialization and market inefficiency, the current study focused on the determinants of beef cattle commercialization and the challenges to the of market efficiency. Heckman’s two-stage model used to determine the factors that influence households’ commercialization decisions, and the two-stage least squares method is used to examine the constraints of market inefficiencies. However, commercialization decisions offer twofold decision of commercialization and degree of commercialization. The result showed that commercialization decisions are significantly influenced by households’ age, extension services, and production costs. The degree of commercialization was affected by education, marketing costs, income from dairy, transportation costs, and training access. On the other hand, market inefficiency was influenced by formal market access, distance, extension services, and earning from cattle. As extension services worsen both commercialization decisions and market efficiency, the government should focus on extension services and offer farmers opportunities to increase their understanding and knowledge of marketing.New energy vehicles’ technology innovation coordination strategy based on alliance negotiation under dual credit policyMiaomiao MaWeidong MengBo HuangYuyu Li10.1371/journal.pone.02999152024-03-15T14:00:00Z2024-03-15T14:00:00Z<p>by Miaomiao Ma, Weidong Meng, Bo Huang, Yuyu Li</p>
The development of new energy vehicles (NEVs) is one of the effective ways to alleviate carbon emissions, environmental pollution, and energy scarcity in the transportation sector. The Chinese government has innovatively proposed the “dual credit policy,” but it is still a hot topic whether it can promote the NEVs’ technological innovation. In this study, we construct game models and obtain the technological innovation strategies for NEVs under the dual credit policy, considering that the NEV supply chain contains one manufacturer and N suppliers. Further, we construct bargaining game models and study how to encourage manufacturers and suppliers to enhance technological innovation, realize supply chain coordination, and give the alliance strategy to maximize suppliers’ profit. We found that the dual credit policy can effectively stimulate technological innovation, and the higher the credit price or technological innovation credit factor, the higher the technical level of NEVs. The findings could guide the government to adjust and revise the policy. Second, we found that the bargaining games could coordinate the NEV supply chain so that decentralized enterprises can achieve optimal technological innovation under centralized decision-making. Third, we found that suppliers can improve their profits by choosing a suitable alliance strategy under the manufacturer’s different negotiating power.Damage detection of road domain waveform guardrail structure based on machine learning multi-module fusionXiaowei JinMingxing GaoDanlan LiTing Zhao10.1371/journal.pone.02991162024-03-15T14:00:00Z2024-03-15T14:00:00Z<p>by Xiaowei Jin, Mingxing Gao, Danlan Li, Ting Zhao</p>
The current highway waveform guardrail recognition technology has encountered problems with low segmentation accuracy and strong noise interference. Therefore, an improved U-net semantic segmentation model is proposed to improve the efficiency of road maintenance detection. The model training is guided by mixed expansion convolution and mixed loss function, while the presence of guardrail shedding is investigated by using partial mean values of gray values in ROI region based on segmentation results, while the first-order detail coefficients of wavelet transform are applied to detect guardrail defects and deformation. It has been determined that the Miou and Dice of the improved model are improved by 8.63% and 17.67%, respectively, over the traditional model, and that the method of detecting defects in the data is more accurate than 85%. As a result of efficient detection of highway waveform guardrail, the detection process is shortened and the effectiveness of the detection is improved later on during road maintenance.