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Vitalpolitik
(2022)
Abstract: This chapter reconstructs the notion of ‘vital policy’ (Vitalpolitik), an approach to the social question whose first and strongest proponent amongst the Ordoliberals was Alexander Rüstow. It is opposed to traditional social policy as a top-down provision of material benefits (welfare). Instead, it aims at enabling those ‘conditions of life’ (Lebenslagen) that provide the prerequisites for human beings and their community to flourish. This humanistic approach attempts to complement the competitive processes in a market society and to provide access and equal opportunity to these processes, focusing on the notion of fair starting conditions for individuals. In its general thrust, Vitalpolitik is well compatible with more recent research programmes, especially the capability approach of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum.
This master's thesis focuses on developing a robust framework for co-simulating microscopic traffic scenarios and vehicle dynamics, leveraging the capabilities of SUMO and CARLA. The essence of this research lies in its meticulous analysis of existing simulation tools, leading to identifying the most effective co-simulation strategies and intercommunication methods. A comparative study elucidates the strengths and limitations of these methodologies, guiding the selection of an optimal approach.
Central to the methodology is a thorough understanding and application of SUMO and CARLA, enhanced by the strategic implementation of intercommunication methods. The detailed integration of these tools and the introduction of test automation significantly boost simulation efficacy. The framework's reliability and accuracy are rigorously validated through well-defined procedures and metrics, ensuring fidelity in simulation results.
Key to this research is the design of experimental scenarios that reflect real-world traffic conditions underpinned by carefully chosen simulation parameters. These scenarios are pivotal in validating the co-simulation framework's performance, supplemented by a performance cost analysis focusing on processing efficiency. The thesis culminates with a critical discussion of the findings, addressing the research objectives and posing solutions to identified challenges. Potential areas for future enhancements are explored, highlighting the framework's limitations.
In conclusion, this thesis contributes significantly to the field of traffic simulation for autonomous driving technologies. It presents a comprehensive co-simulation framework, offering researchers and engineers a sophisticated tool for advanced testing and validation. The insights and recommendations provided are instrumental for ongoing research and development in this rapidly evolving domain.
This research investigates the Leipzigerstraße and Gießereistraße intersection in Rackwitz to enhance safety and sustainable transportation. The study analyzes existing designs that experience accidents and proposes a design plan of mini roundabout to improve safety while using the guideline Anlage von Kreisverkehren. In this project, the roundabout is planned according to the currently valid guidelines from phase 2 of the HOAI (Fee Structure for Architects and Engineers). Rainwater management strategies and traffic quality of the roundabout are considered. Additionally, cyclist-friendly paths connecting Rackwitz and Zschölkau are developed in line by using guideline ERA. The proposed roundabout design and elevated cycle paths are identified as effective solutions to enhance safety and support eco-friendly transportation. By adhering to established guidelines and prioritizing safety, this research contributes to creating a secure and sustainable urban transportation network.
Since Carbon emissions are soaring all over the atmosphere, the world suffers from significant problems daily. It has become apparent that reliance on single occupancy vehicle transportation is unsustainable, expensive, and primarily harmful to humankind. Rural areas are frequently abandoned while expanding
transportation infrastructure as urbanisation grows. In rural areas, a lack of adequate and inexpensive transportation options leads to seclusion and restricted access to products, facilities, and job opportunities.
This study explores the potential of alternative transportation methods to improve mobility in rural areas. The objectives of the research are to expand knowledge on sustainable alternative transportation in rural regions and to offer practical solutions for enhancing accessibility and mobility for rural residents.
The study employed a mixed-method approach, including a literature review, a survey, and interviews with participants in two rural regions, Mosel and Oberrothenbach. The findings suggest that the transportation challenges faced by rural inhabitants can be effectively and sustainably addressed through walking and by using alternative transportation modes, such as cycling and public transit. This thesis provides a range of ideas and strategies to improve regulations, programs, and infrastructure related to alternative transportation modes in rural areas. This study dives into the characteristics and requirements
of these places using a combination of quantitative and qualitative surveys done in representative two rural regions to recommend successful alternative transportation solutions of On-Demand Transport Services and Electric or Trolley bus Services for daily commutes. The findings underline the need for flexible, multimodal, and on-demand transit choices, as well as the need for community participation and technology integration.
1 In an increasingly populated and technological world, manufacturing processes have become faster and data more voluminous. With this comes the need to store this massive production data and use real-time data monitoring tools to facilitate decision making in a plant. Concepts, derived from Pharma 4.0.
| 2 In the manufacturing environment there is, however, a big challenge in data collection and transmission, i.e. the communication between different equipments, sensors, and software. Since each manufacturer tends or has tended to use its own standards for programming and manufacturing the devices and tools.
| 3 Another major challenge is the secure transmission of data to avoid theft and cyber attacks, thus affecting the company's credibility and financial losses.
| 4 In this project the data transfer from Programmable Logic Controller (PLCs) was performed through the Matrikon Server and an interface belonging to the OPC Foundation, this technology allows the collection of data from different sources and delivers them safely to the process visualization software in a single language.
| 5 For software and hardware installation in a regulated environment, standards and validation methods need to be followed before, during and after installation of the required system.
| 6 This project aims to transfer data continuously and contemporaneously from a local source to the could environment and present the validation method used by pharmaceutical industries to validate this process in a GMP-regulated environment.
| 7 For the performance of the software installation, documents have been prepared and used to record and evidence the procedure. These documents were prepared and executed based on standards and methods relevant to the validation process.
| 8 The workers were also trained to know how to handle the data coming from production, and to be able to extract the value from it for different sectors, such as quality, raw material sector, energy sector, etc.
| 9 Finally, improvements were suggested for the documents and validation process used in this project. Since this installation will be used as a basis for future customer installations, not only for interfaces, but also for 1st and 2nd generation connectors.
Research and studies have indicated that rural highways globally exhibit a disproportionately high incidence of accidents and fatalities, which can be attributed to inadequate traffic safety measures. This paper primarily examines the causes of inadequate traffic safety, with a particular emphasis on factors associated with road conditions. These causes can be broadly categorized into human factors, road factors, and vehicle factors. Indeed, the movement of vehicles on these rural roads is characterized by unrestricted traffic flow, whereby the driving stability of a vehicle is primarily impacted by factors such as road alignments and surface conditions. Single-vehicle run-off-road crashes frequently exhibit a correlation with insufficient road conditions. Hence, enhancing the alignment design of roadways can prove to be efficacious in minimizing the occurrence of traffic accidents. However, constraints may arise in the context of rural roads, thereby imposing limitations on designers and engineers in their ability to modify road design. Therefore, it is imperative to explore alternative measures to enhance road safety as required. The objective of this study is to analyse driving behaviour on a two-lane rural road in Germany, taking into consideration the varying alignments of the road. The WHZ static simulator is an innovative technological tool utilized within the field of road design analysis, specifically for the purpose of evaluating driving behaviour. Speed, lateral positions, and are the primary parameters utilized in the evaluation of driving behaviours.
Keywords: Driving Simulators, Driving Behaviour, Traffic Safety, Trajectory Classification
Natural varnishes have been used for centuries by musical instrument makers to protect the instruments for climatic, aesthetic and acoustic reasons. The effects of varnishes on the protection of the wood surface, as well as their aesthetic parameters, are easier to verify and compare visually, but the comparison of their acoustic effects has always been challenging and debated.
In fact, varnish layers have a small effect on the vibration properties of wood. For example, the effect of a decrease or increase in humidity on the vibration properties of wood is sometimes equal to the effect of several layers of varnish. Because of this small amount of effect, measuring this effect is also difficult and challenging.
Our strategy in this study is to obtain the clearest possible results by comparing the effect of only two types of oil varnishes with completely opposite elastomechanical properties and increasing the number of samples varnished.
The samples were measured before and after each varnish layer using conventional methods for measuring vibration properties, and the average results of the same samples were discussed and analyzed.
Overall, the amber varnish obviously has a more negative effect on the vibration properties of the violin plates compared to the colophony varnish.
Finite element Analysis is a powerful tool that enables a thorough examination of the physical and mechanical aspects of various objects, yielding insights that would otherwise be difficult to obtain. In the context of the guitar industry, this technology can be used to determine the role of internal bracing structures with a high degree of precision. Specifically, FEM is commonly utilized to analyze the natural vibration frequency of guitars and to gain a better understanding of their vibrational behaviour. Although there are many sources that describe the impact of braces on the natural frequencies of guitar tops, there exists a paucity of research that delves into how these structures achieve their effects.
The purpose of this paper is to employ FEM to examine the effect of braces on the soundboard and to contrast the results with those obtained from an actual soundboard fabricated by the author. Through simulation, we aim to elucidate the influence of various factors such as position, height, and profile on the soundboard's performance. However, it is important to note that there may be discrepancies between the simulation results and the actual performance of the soundboard owing to measurement errors and constraints associated with manual production. As a result, the data generated by this study should not be regarded as reference data.
This thesis presents a case study conducted at the Potsdamer Platz intersection in Berlin, focusing on the effects of transitioning from fixed phase control to Vehicle Actuated Signal Control (VA). The objective is to optimize the signal control system to improve traffic flow and reduce waiting times for motorists. Traffic data from the Berlin authority is analyzed, and various stage sequences are developed using the signal planning tool LISA+ and simulated using VISSIM microsimulation. The impact of the proposed vehicle-actuated signal control system on overall traffic performance is evaluated by comparing the Level of Service (LOS) with the existing fixed-time plan. The analysis reveals the limitations of the proposed approach and identifies areas for further improvement in control systems. Results indicate that the VA system shows comparable effectiveness to the current scenario only at lower volume, with room for enhancement. By considering two variations of the signal group from the current sequence, valuable insights are gained into the effects of the proposed changes. The results contribute to the development of optimized signal control strategies, aiming to create safer and more efficient traffic environments at urban intersections.
WHO estimates that 1.25 million people worldwide pass away in traffic accidents each year. Accidental damage to the economy costs USD 520 per year. Road traffic accidents account for 2.1% of all fatalities worldwide. In total, 50,000 people die in Europe each year. One of the most significant economic and social issues, traffic accidents result in thousands of fatalities and serious injuries each year in Germany and around the world. Whenever there is an accident involving vehicles, trucks, motorized two-wheelers, bicycles, or pedestrians that results in casualties or property damage, the questions of what caused the accident and how it could have been prevented naturally arises: whether it was due to human factors (e.g., carelessness, speeding, or drinking), vehicular flaw (e.g., faulty brakes, a faulty chassis, or old tires), road surface, poor visibility, and so on. The list of possible explanations is really long. The problem is to implement effective steps to prevent accidents from happening in the first place, regardless of what caused the mishap.
The German federal states of Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Brandenburg, Hessen, and cities of Hamburg, and Bremen are examined in this study's analysis of accidents. This study aims to (i) identify the human factors, environmental factors, and road/infrastructural factors that lead to human failures which cause road accidents, and (ii) explore ways of mitigating these accidents.
BIM (Building information modeling) is becoming a reliable method for the planning, design, implementation, and maintenance stages of construction projects due to its ability to improve the quality of project stages, reduce project time, and ensure costs. From 2000 onwards, the trend of using BIM method increased in the world. And in the last decade, many developed countries have introduced BIM as a reasonable and efficient method with the aim of optimizing project stages, and many employers have paid attention to training and persuading consulting and contracting companies.
In the meantime, the BIM method is constantly being updated. Many researchers are looking to modify existing sub-methods to help the project achieve all of the great BIM goals.
Although BIM has great goals such as those mentioned, in some cases, projects are not able to achieve all of them for various reasons.
This thesis has put its hypothesis on the existence of deficiencies in the content of the EIR (Employer's Information Requirements) document and its writing methods.
This document, which is a kind of project guide in BIM format, is compiled by the client and its task is to announce the needs of the client to the members involved in the project and to clarify the different stages of the project. In many construction projects, due to the complexity of the EIR, the employer's lack of attention to some information, or the failure to include the opinions and views of the project's stakeholders in the writing of this document, the EIR cannot fulfill its key role with its maximum potential performance in the project.
This thesis is written with the aim of finding a comprehensive solution to maximize the power of the BIM method in a project through correct and complete document writing.
Also, this thesis seeks to prove its claims by focusing on the ABS 38 project as a case study. In addition, a literature review on important and key issues in the field of BIM and EIR documents has been done. After that, a scoring system (Relative rating method) was used to find the best variant and compare it to prove the proposed hypothesis.
Automotive transportation plays an important role in everyday urban life. The motorization is increasing along with rising population every year. The constant increase of cars causes various problems in big cities. One of the major problems is parking. Parking search traffic contributes to about 30% of the traffic volume in city centers. This leads to problems like congestion, road accidents, increase of fuel emission due to the circling of cars inside the city looking for parking facilities, environmental pollution etc. Most of the cities face this problem not because of the unavailability of parking spots in parking facilities but rather because drivers don't have the right information on where to park. This can be solved by providing proper guidance about the parking facilities to the drivers. For this, efficient parking space management including the design of a suitable parking guidance system is required. The Entsorgungs and Vekehrsbetrieb (EVB) Wismar has been responsible for the parking space management in the city since 2012 and is implementing the parking space concept in Wismar that was approved by the town council. So far, there is a static parking guidance system in Wismar, which consists of 20 locations with signs pointing to six parking facilities. The Entsorgungs und Vekehrsbetrieb (EVB) intends to replace the static parking guidance system of the Hanseatic City of Wismar with a dynamic parking guidance system (DPGS). The aim of my master thesis is to create a concept for the development of a dynamic parking guidance system in the Hanseatic city of Wismar, including the technical operation and possible implementation, taking autonomous driving into account.
Despite lacking sufficient evidence, the shift to automated mobility has often been regarded as progress towards a safer road transport system. Following the introduction of the first production car that has been officially certified as Level 3 earlier in 2022, the driver can shift their role to only as a fallback when the automated driving system reaches its limit of the Operational Design Domain. In the event of an accident, though, the matter will only get even more complicated, especially in the process of unravelling the party that was performing the Dynamic Driving Task at the time of the collision. An accident investigation is done to provide insight into how it occurred and uncover the liable parties. This thesis reviews various methods reconstructing an accident scene, such as photogrammetry and laser scanning, as well as elaborating the relevant data that has already available in the vehicle and from the infrastructure. Recommendations are also presented on for the future data collection, specifically in the scenario of automated driving, to improve such practice.
In this project we develop an intelligent water meter based on software solutions offered by the IOTA Foundation. The water meter allows the customer to map water usage in real-time and pay water on demand, as well as the water provider to map water usage on a greater scale, regulate water supply during low- demand phases and offers regulatory functions to prepare for drought or humid climate, and to incentivise sustainable water usage in high-demand fields like agriculture. This functionality is phrased into a research issue:
Invention of a working prototype to demonstrate the IOTA Streams and Wallet protocols for a meter with additional focus on economic efficiency and the technical preparation of scalability.
Utilizing the IOTA streams protocol, a next generation secure data connection is established between the water meter and a server-sided software application. On this connection, water consumption is mapped into a data bench, and informative data and commands are issued to the graphical interface of the meter.
The IOTA wallet library is leveraged to provide customer accounts corresponding to their meter. IOTA tokens can be send to the account, which grants access to water in a matter of seconds. Depending on the regulatory scenario, water flow can be stopped as soon as the account is exhausted (i.e. public well), or an overdraw can be established in order to guarantee fulfilment of basic human rights (i.e. private households).
Since pricing data can be calculated server-sided and water consumption is mapped in very narrow intervals of as low as 4 seconds, the price can be used as tool to regulate consumption.
The physical components include an electrical ball valve to shut down water flow automatically, a command line interface to provide informative data,, a Raspberry Pi running the client-sided software application, and a water meter with MBus-Interface, as well as a Controlling Board to connect the Raspberry Pi with both peripheral devices.
The finished prototype shows, that water consumption can be mapped on a highly secure level, in near real-time, from afar, flexible for most applications.
Objective: Sagittal balance (SB) plays important role in the successful treatment of spinal disorders. Segmental lordosis is an important SB parameter in spinal surgery and diagnosis, which can help to ensure proper surgical planning and better postoperative outcomes. The manual measurement of segmental lordosis is associated with problems such as time-consuming procedures, high error rates, and poor reproducibility.
The bachelor thesis proposes a solution by exploring and evaluating a more efficient and reliable AI-based method for determining segmental lordosis in preoperative patients, which is compared to measurements made by experienced physicians.
Methods: hidden due to a non-disclosure agreement.
Results: hidden due to a non-disclosure agreement.
Conclusions: hidden due to a non-disclosure agreement.
The objective of the study is to improve the functionality of the Virtual Reality Laboratory (VR Labs) of the Faculty of Automotive Engineering and enhance its applicability in Road Traffic Engineering education and training at the University of Applied Sciences Zwickau (WHZ). In this study, a comprehensive description of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) as well as their wide application in education has been given.
An insight into the VR Labs of the Faculty of Automotive Engineering at WHZ is provided. The study built and proposed eight use cases of VR Labs in road traffic engineering training and education at WHZ. The limitations and barriers in deploying application cases are analyzed and suitable solutions are given. The adoption of virtual reality can be an easy transition based on BIM modeling software development, and 3D and 360 degrees scanning.
An extension of the VR Labs application for other areas of education at WHZ has been identified. In addition, technologies, areas of application, and future research directions are mentioned. Innovations such as 3D modeling and BIM-based workflows that are being encouraged through the development of content-created engines will provide students with opportunities for using VR/AR on road traffic and infrastructure projects in the future.
The traffic calming measures aim to slow down traffic speed, accident frequency, and reduction of through traffic caused mainly by motorized vehicles in residential areas. These measures are primarily addressed to the specific streets and lead the necessary or remaining traffic to drive in a restrained or considerate manner. While these measures are designed to prevent conflicts between pedestrians and motorists, they impose unstable traffic patterns and are sometimes unable to accommodate the increasing motor vehicle flows, as they are concentrated only on certain streets.
This paper investigates area-wide urban traffic calming techniques from existing projects. It explains how traffic regulatory and structural measures link together or separately to restrict the movement of motor vehicles traveling through neighborhood streets and divert them to main roads. The implemented sample measures were illustrated and described with photos of their current locations.
In this thesis, the district Äußere Neustadt was defined as a model area in Dresden to analyze and redesign the existing mobility plan in order to reduce the MIV flows with the main objectives of giving space for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport. The district's street infrastructure is heavily impacted by the presence of parked vehicles, raising challenges to the safe movement of both bicyclists and oncoming motor vehicles. In the frame of the model project initiative - "Woche des guten Lebens", the volunteer team has designed a traffic experiment and carried out an online survey to assess citizens' opinions of the Äußere Neustadt. The analyses demonstrate and emphasize the necessity of political support and interactive communication with citizens regarding the area-wide radical sustainable mobility plan. Considering the positive feedback of the citizens, the new mobility plan was realized in this paper.
Area-specific traffic calming techniques such as diagonal or cross barriers, zone speed limits, offsets, one-way streets, etc. were analyzed from the implemented projects to determine the appropriate solutions for the specified streets. The district's existing traffic network and the new solutions offered were visualized using QGIS software.
The implemented new traffic plan will lead to more space for pedestrians and bicycle traffic and a reduction in traffic noise.
In this study more than 150 kg real waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) shredder residues from different European dismantling plant were treated by laserspectroscopic flouroescence and solvent-based recycling process. Currently, the samples used are excluded from material recycling and remain as side streams in state-of-the-art plastic recycling plants. The main reason why the waste streams are not currently recycled is due to the fact that they contain flame retardants that are already banned by different EU regulations (e.g. REACH, POP) and must be removed before the recyclates produced can be used again in products on the market. Conventional recycling technologies cannot separate these hazardous flame retardants from the polymers, therefore the solvent-based recycling process was used for this study. The focus within this work was the upscaling of the CreaSolv® Process from the laboratory scale to the small technical scale to provide larger quantities of recyclates. Sensor-based sorting process and CreaSolv® Process were combined to achieve easier handling and better yields of recyclates. By means of safe solvents a significant decrease of halogen content of (up to 98%) was achieved within the applied methods. Mass balances were determined, and gas chromatography-electron capture detector (GC-ECD) as well as energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) measurements provided data on the different flame retardants and halogen content of each recyclate. As a result, the recyclates produced comply with the limit values of the EU directives (e.g. POPs, REACH). Melt flow analysis and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were carried out on the recyclates for a quality evaluation and revealed that the recyclates have similar properties to virgin materials. Based on this work, the upscaling of the CreaSolv® Process is able to recycle WEEE containing pollutants and at the same time produce recyclates with good mechanical properties.
Over the last few decades, the motorization rate has steadily increased because of an increase in private car ownership each year. According to the survey, the vehicle-to-person ratio is at an all-time high. An increase in accidents and parking space issues are some of the consequences of having more vehicles on the road.
Autonomous vehicles can be a solution to these problems. To allow autonomous vehicles to drive on the road, their efficiency and functionality to perform various tasks such as object detection, path planning, and path following must be tested.
Autonomous parking can be extremely beneficial for both autonomous vehicles and conventional vehicles. This thesis aims to develop a methodology to find if Reinforcement Learning can be used as an alternative approach to motion planning for autonomous parking. Three Reinforcement Learning algorithms, namely Soft Actor Critic, Truncated Quantile Critics and Twin Delay Deep Deterministic Policy, were used to accomplish the motion planning task.
The reinforcement Learning agents were trained on three scenarios with different levels of complexity. The agent learned the behaviour to follow, which led to a higher success rate and reward maximization at the end of the training phase. In the testing phase, agents were tested on various scenarios, including unknown scenarios. Additionally,
a comparison between the three agent’s training and testing results has been made with possible reasons behind the behaviour of all three agents. The potential benefit from autonomous parking by Reinforcement Learning includes an effective solution for various parking scenarios and a generalized model which can be used without repetition of the training process.
Traffic signal priority for Public Transit vehicle is considered as an effective strategy to reduce the delay times and increase service reliability. This strategy is implemented to stop the vicious cycle of traffic congestion due to excess utilization of private vehicle. Though this is an attractive alternative for a private vehicle, this strategy can be implemented without opting for any new transportation infrastructure. On doing so the concern towards sustainable mobility solutions is also addressed. Therefore, prioritizing public transport is the best possible way to adapt to the increasing mobility demands in urban areas. Along with the technological advancements, these priority strategies are also being developed.
With these advancements in priority strategies, more research towards Estimated Time of Arrival of transit vehicles a key parameter in Transit signal priority has been observed. One such new traffic signal priority is with C-ITS message profiles CAM and SREM. Though this advanced priority method is considered to outperform the existing traffic signal priority strategies, how much better they can perform is not yet determined. This thesis focuses on this aspect by comparing the existing Transit signal priority method with the advanced CAM and SREM Transit signal priority, in four different scenarios. Signal Control tool LISA and Simulation tool VISSIM are used for the whole design and evaluation process. Delay time, waiting time,and average speed evaluation parameters are considered for comparing and determining the performance of two Transit Signal priority methods.
Multi-objective optimization of a model predictive vehicle dynamics control system using NSGA-II
(2022)
The development of the Automated Driving System (ADS) had a substantial significant impression on scientists. Throughout ADS, different units and controllers are installed, monitored, and analysed. The research is based on the theory of the Model Predictive Controller (MPC) system. which tackles the Multi-Objective Optimization (MOO) problem by calling out the cost function on the path-following problem using the MPC (i:e Model Predictive Path Following Control (MPFC)) with the defined constraints for the lateral control of the vehicle. The cost function helps to minimize the errors and compute the data. But the computation through the cost function is a bit complex. To overcome the complexity, an Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) algorithm is proposed, which helps to minimize the errors of set parameters and provides an optimal solution. The notion of NSGA-II is to find a wide variety of solutions and obtain better convergence in the form of the Pareto Optimal Front. Moreover, the detail of the Non-Dominated Genetic Algorithm II is theoretically enlightened to understand the Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) concept and the workability of the genetic algorithm. And the whole function is scripted in the MATLAB program.
Furthermore, we analyse the generated data in the Pareto Optimal Front and compare it with the Hyper-volume indicator, the most popular set-quality metric for rating stochastic multi-objective optimizer performance. Its theoretical characteristics, particularly the strict monotonicity concerning set dominance, which is still exclusive
to hyper-volume based indicators, justify its widespread acceptance. Hyper-volume indicator scrutinizes the optimal solution of multiple results. The analysis and
evaluation are completed between two other data sets generated and received through the RandomDATA and Multiple Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO)
algorithm, which describe the quality of the best optimal solution between the results generated by the three algorithms.
Keywords: Non-Dominated Genetic Algorithm II, Model Predictive Path following Control, MATLAB, Algorithm, Pareto Optimal Front, Multi-Object optimization, Cost
Function
Radiation measurements have been employed in research for close to a century and over the last years a growing interest for application in workshops has developed. However, some problems of standardization mainly pertaining to room acoustics arise, which make measurement results comparable only to those conducted under the same circumstances. Our aim is to modify measurement procedure and rig design in such a way, that comparable results can be attained even in acoustically non-ideal spaces. A specialized rig for violin radiation measurements was constructed leaning on partial automation to allow for the application of thick curtains as a means of decoupling measurements from the surrounding room. Trial runs in an acoustically challenging space - our living room - as well as in a small studio environment were conducted.
Improvements of measurement results were obtained for frequencies above 800 Hz, measurements were influenced significantly by the surrounding room below that threshold. As a result, calculated features were heavily skewed by the environment, rendering obtained data useless for statistical purposes. Therefore additional measurements of six instruments were performed in a small studio environment and features as defined in the literature calculated. Correlations with listening test results concerning the evenness of sound as well as structural instrument parameters were obtained. Listening test results were inconclusive, which is proposed to be attributed to the narrow range of instrument quality available for trials. Some interesting correlations of measurement features with structural parameters could be obtained and further vetted through the comparison with a second set of data. Three correlations were found which were significant or approaching significance in both groups, giving a more complete connection from instrument making to sound perception. Furthermore we have found some interesting correlations of structural parameters, giving insights into maker decisions and corroborating some workshop wisdoms.
Level crossings represent high risk for both rail and road users due to the severe consequences of any possible accident. Between 2011-2020, a total of 1602 accidents occurred at level crossings in Germany and resulted in 344 fatalities. Therefore, elimination of accident risk through consolidation of level crossings becomes a priority. However, due to the scarcity of financial resources in comparison to the high costs that level crossings consolidation or safety upgrade projects require, there is a need for the creation of tools that prioritize the level crossings for consolidation projects based on several criteria that is not related to safety only but to social, economic and environmental aspects as well. Such tool would be particularly useful for authorities and decision-makers in Germany to improve the resource allocation process and increase overall safety at German level crossings. In this project, the level crossing prioritization and consolidation models that are applied all over the world are reviewed and analyzed to benefit from the international experiences in this field. Additionally, a literature review to determine the most influencing factors on level crossing safety was performed. After that, a points-based priority score for German level crossings was developed based on analytic hierarchy process (AHP) methodology after a pairwise comparison survey was conducted to a selected level crossing group of experts. The developed model assigns a priority score from 1000 points to each level crossing. Crossings could be ranked according to their priority for consolidation and safety upgrade based on the points received as crossings with the highest priority score have a higher priority for elimination.
ABSTRACT:
Multimodal transportation system which is also called as Combined transportation system. This type of transportation is seen in two methods i.e., movement of passengers from one place to another and movement of cargo using different types of transportation vehicles (Trains, trams, metro, bus, ship, truck, bicycle, airplane and air cargos). This type of system can also be derived
as single ticket (passengers) and single contract (freight) transportation. This will help in reducing the travel time, air pollution, economy, environmental changes, and unorganized journey. The main goal of the thesis is to bring ease in the multi-modal transportation system in India and to make people choose public transport over private and to provide end to end transportation facilities for people, so that people opt for public transportation as it is budget friendly as well. For instance, prevailing the single ticket (passengers) and single contract (freight) transportation system in Germany could be implemented in India. A single transport operator system is needed to meet the desired target in implementing multi-modal transportation
system feasibly. The main issue lies in the implementation of this system in Indian conditions which can be fulfilled by integration of various institutions involved in it for instance linking up the network channels of various modes of transport (end to end transportation). The rising concerns of funding by Indian government can be resolved by the implementation of this system
in the form of subsidies.
My research paper also includes the phases of MMTS, how it was earlier and how it has been in contemporary times. Major Factors like total cost, reliability, transportation capability, total time and security drive forward to developing multi-modal transportation system. This system is helpful in the growth of a nation's economy and is energy-efficient. Reliability of this system shall be based on the funding from the government because the absence of multi-modal transportation system leads to pollution, and ill health. The amount of funding plays a vital role in determining country to country (MMTS) development. Having been considering the advantages and uses of this system it is important to look into the disadvantages of the system.
For instance, How can implementing multi-modal transportation system in India be feasible?
Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a wide area in computer science and software engineering that finds its application not only in such fields as machine learning or artificial intelligence, but also has very quickly become a very popular solution to various questions and issues raised in the academic field. Those issues include information classification, text analysis, performing a so-called “smart search”, information grouping, providing feedback to academic papers, and many more. The application designed and implemented for this thesis targets solving a similar problem, which is described in details below.
The faculty of Physical Engineering and Informatics at the Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau uses a software tool called “Quest”. The “Quest” serves as an online platform that enables students to ask questions regarding the module material introduced by the teaching professors. The professors can use these questions in order to keep track of the topics rising the most amount of uncertainty, as well as to clarify those questions during the lectures. Since the modules repeat over time, similar or identical questions are frequently asked by students.
The current functionality of the “Quest” tool, however, does not provide grouping or clustering questions with a similar content into one category. The reason why this is important is because in the future phases of the improvement of the functionality of the “Quest”, professors want to be able to link similar questions with a learning material or online resources that the students can benefit from. This, however, is only possible when each incoming question is labeled with a certain category, and all previously inputted questions associated with this category become visible through the UI of the tool. That would allow students to review the questions referring to the same category that were previously asked by others, as well as to get access to the study materials or resources associated with that category.
The functionality described above would significantly improve the study process and therefore a solution to this problem is needed. One way to solve this issue would be to perform a manual classification of existing questions into associated categories, which given the large size of the question database would be quite time- and effort-consuming. Another option would be to build an application that would be able to analyze the existing dataset of questions and, with the help of the NLP techniques, classify new questions asked by students and identify the similar ones from an existing database.
The tool implemented for the above-mentioned purposes aims to serve as text analytics and classification application that would be able to find and categorize similar text and questions provided by students and/or professors at the Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau.
This bachelor thesis demonstrates the process of building a software tool using certain NLP techniques, such as tokenization, model training, categorization, NER (Named Entity Recognition), and POS (Parts of Speech tagging), which are defined and described in Chapter 2: “Literature Overview”. The relevance of these techniques in terms of the classification tool built in the context of this thesis is discussed in the section “Selection of NLP tools and techniques” of the “Methodology” chapter.
The aim of this thesis is to describe the methods and software tools used to develop a restful API for text classification, as well as to compare and analyze the effectiveness of two common NLP classifiers – the Naïve Bayes and Logistic Regression (Entropy Model) algorithms.
This work aimed to apply the Floating Film Transfer Method (FTM), developed by Kaneto et.al., as a new way of coating planar and nonplanar substrates with photoresist. Focus laid on the creation of a workflow to coat the substrate and process it by UV-Lithography and Nanoimprint lithography. Conventional coating methods like spin-, spray- or dip coating are well established in today’s industry but are limited in their capabilities to coat curved and structured surfaces. FTM offers the possibility to overcome these limitations. Therefore, two negative resists AR N 4400 and AR N 4600 10 as well as two positive resists AR P 3110 and AZ MIR 701 were drop cast on deionized water. The resist spreads into a thin film that can be transferred to a planar or curved substrate. Profilometric and ellipsometric measurements were conducted to evaluate the topography of the resist. A non-uniform thickness distribution was found depending on the resist and parameters like solid content, water temperature, and the amount of surfactant. UV-Lithography and Nanoimprintl ithography were successfully performed with these films. Resolutions as low as 2,3±0,4 µm were achieved by UV-Lithography of AR P 3110. A periodic pattern with a pitch of 1,51 µm was transferred by thermal nanoimprint lithography to AR N 4400 10. As proof of concept Laser Direct Writing was performed to structure AZ MIR 701coated on a glass vial.
Analysis of Traffic Management using Microscopic Simulation and Markov chain Modeling in Hyderabad
(2022)
Many developing countries around the world have been affected by globalization. India is one of the countries that has gained the most benefits. Hyderabad is the capital of the Indian state of Telangana. Because of population growth and the migration of people from rural to urban areas, traffic in Hyderabad is rapidly expanding. With commercial enterprise quarters, purchasing departmental stores, schools, and hospitals, Hyderabad has evolved into a financial hub. As a result, the number of people who own and use automobiles is increasing. Traffic congestion and regular traffic jams have become widespread in central areas, as they have traffic gridlocks on major corridors. The majority of the city’s transportation needs are currently met by bus transit (42 percent), the Multimodal Transport System (MMTS) based on the rail (1.5 percent), vehicles with three and seven seats (8 percent), and two and four-wheeled private automobiles (48.5 percent). Hyderabad is located at a crossroads of three national highways that connect it to six other states. The primary purpose of this article is to understand the city’s existing traffic challenges, find solutions that have been effectively adopted in established cities, and discuss the many projects and actions undertaken by local authorities to manage traffic congestion issues.
Traffic congestion can occur in any mode of transportation, but we focused on traffic congestion on the road network caused by vehicles. Lower velocity, lengthier travels, and car queuing for an extended period are some of the characteristics that distinguish street networks. In this paper, the causes of traffic congestion are identified, including illegal parking, traffic rules, seasonal factors, pavement failures, encroaching on footpaths, the passage of heavy goods vehicles on narrow roads, accidents, and incorrect lane management, as well as remedial measures to reduce congestion at the study location of Hyderabad.
Public transport not only plays an essential role in helping people with diverse economic backgrounds to access employment and services but also the everyday life and mobility of people. Public transport is one of the most essential segments of public infrastructure in any country and a key pointer towards the economic development of that country. This study will examine the current public transport system in the United Kingdom and Germany. The focus will be bus and rail services. The study will review the present transport policy in both countries, and the system of governance – stakeholders, infrastructure, planning, and the role of public transport in everyday life of the citizens. Based on these key aspects, the paper will analyze the better developed and the lagging areas of public transport by way of comparison between both countries. After analyzation, the paper will comment on and highlight areas with room for better policy and planning in future in the United Kingdom and Germany.
Keywords – public transport, analyze, governance, policy, infrastructure, comparison, future policy.
Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) as a means of public transportation is set to revolutionize the mobility behavior of elderly people in the coming future. Though the vehicle manufacturers and corporates emphasize on potential benefits of AVs to elderly citizens, very little has been researched and studied about this large cohort (age 65+) in society. This study aims to measure the experience of the elderlies in this Highly Automat Shuttle (HAS) in Berlin and find out the potential pros and cons affecting the design, trust and security, and perception to adopt this technology in the future. Among the elderly respondents surveyed, 93% found the HAS convenient, with minor design issues addressed. Respondents (90%) were willing to use it for their first and last-mile journey and considered that the HAS would help improve the social participation of elderlies with mobility restrictions. However, elderlies still have trust issues integrating a fully driverless vehicle in the domain of public transportation. The significant findings on the difference in the experience of HAS between the elderlies, adults, and younger adults could be adopted to develop the design further, making it more comfortable and trustworthy towards the elderly population.
The sysWORXX CTR-700 is a versatile edge controller solution developed by SYSTEC electronic AG and sold since 2017. The embedded device is designed for industrial environments to control other machines and equipment connected to it
over Ethernet network, CAN bus or a set of digital and analog input/output pins.
As a central controller in such automated environments, security is an important aspect. Especially integrity of all devices as well as confidentiality of stored and processed data must be ensured. Furthermore, provable authenticity of hardware is crucial to secure the controller's environment and prevent counterfeit hardware.
The sysWORXX CTR-700 has a built-in cryptographic co-processor ATECC508A from Microchip Inc. This ac:HSM provides hardware support for algorithms based on elliptic curve cryptography as well as secured slots for cryptographic keys and other confidential secrets.
This thesis analyses requirements for secure hardware verification and license management supported by the ac:HSM to enhance the existing solutions by leveraging military-grade cryptography standard algorithms and processes. Over
the course of this document, security principles are presented, relevant cryptographic systems and algorithms are explained to build a strong foundation and understanding.
Furthermore, the ATECC508A is introduced with its capabilities and prerequisites for secure confidential operation.
The proposed solution is a form of a vendor acrlong:PKI system. Technical and organizational policies for the ac:PKI are covered. They are accompanied by a detailed process description for provisioning the sysWORXX CTR-700 and the integrated ac:HSM. The process is supported by a set of custom-built tools for managing licenses and devices.
Active Traffic Management Systems – Developing a Package of Measurements for the City of Füssen
(2021)
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and Active Transportation and Demand Management (ATDM) are new commanders in the world of transportation engineering. The combination of ATDM and ITS has created a concept called “Active Traffic Management (ATM)”. The world’s ATM is getting a higher point for major technological changes that have been bringing new ways in public and private transport managing, decision making, smart cities, traffic control, safety and environment.
The management, control, influence of travel demand and traffic flow in transportation facilities is referred to as ATM. Actions are taken in real time to improve system performance, such as preventing or delaying breakdown conditions, enhancing safety, encouraging sustainable travel modes or cutting emissions, using archived data and or/predictive methods.
In this Master's thesis, it has been exanimated the prominent different areas of Active Traffic Management in traffic engineering with a special focus on the sections of traffic management, signal control, and simulations with the program VISSIM. To discuss this issue, this paper begins with a brief introduction of the names and concepts of the current technologies in ATM, followed by an example. Important data and challenges for the study case of the city of Füssen in Germany will be presented in the text, subsequent to some results, conclusions and recommendations. In addition, the current and alternative scenarios with their respective level of service are researched according to German regulations. A simulation of different nodes has been modeled to observe the respective delays, level of services and emissions of the intersections selected in the city.
Keywords
Traffic Engineering, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), Active Traffic Management (ATM), Level of Service (LOS) and Traffic Simulation.
The use of fossil resources must be phased out during the next decades in order to stay below a well below 2°C trajectory adopted with the Paris Agreement. The growing threat of climate changes arises large uncertainties concerning natural and social systems and induced changes on economic activities and human welfare in the 21st century. As recent climate negotiations failed to achieve significant progress to stop the climate change, GHG emissions fragmented the international communities. Total carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration is at the highest levels ever recorded. Since, it is very important to differentiate the total CO2 and its origin.
Evidently, CO2 has been identifed as the most important GHG because it contributes the largest share to the anthropogenic increase of radiative forcing and grows fastest. Anthropogenic sources of CO2 emissions are fossilfuel combustion (FFC), cement production, traditional biomass combustion and land use change, which contain chlorouorocarbons, hydrochlorouorocarbons and others. Where Biogenic CO2 emission sources are fermentation, biogas and other biological process. Compare to atropogenicsource with high purity.
The thesis provides an improved overview of R&D, pilot, demonstration and commercial projects that capture CO2 from biogas plants and other biogenic sources and subsequently put this carbon to further use. Best practices in terms of business models and GHG saving potentials are described. The CO2 emissions mitigation are related to the innovation, technologies, investment and moreover the strong policies from the Government
The accident data analysis uses data mining and machine learning techniques, focusing on the factors that are involved in the accident occurrence. This data is collected by the police who is a first investigator and is afterwards used by the accident researcher to examine possible accident causes and influences. The main purpose of this thesis is to get an in-depth understanding by creating new data for accident researchers which helps to understand certain accident scenarios in more detail.
The additional data is based on information derived from the decodation of Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) or in the German Language it is also known as Fahrzeugidentifikationsnummer (FIN). The FIN was decoded into its various sections in order to get the detail on its company, model and model year so that the analysis based on this factor can be added to the accident information and accident participant information. This system is automized for a fast integration of new FIN-data into the accident database and can further be used in the future in-depth study of accident occurrence. It is expected that the research and findings mentioned in this thesis report will help the researcher to analyze the influence of these vehicle characteristics in accident occurrence.
This thesis aims to explain the German and Indian Road & Traffic designing, Green & Smart roads. This topic mainly involves around how both the countries are maintaining a different set of standards in designing roads and analysing them. India is the 2nd largest road network in the world and Germany having a greater number of highway connectivity throughout the country if the area isn’t considered both the countries have an equal amount of road connectivity. When we mainly consider Road, traffic designing, Green & Smart Road concepts practiced in both the countries the methods, procedures and standards used are different. Here we will analyse key factors that play a major role in differentiating Road and traffic designs and by considering some conditions and situations from both the countries we will analyse them. we will also analyse how much efforts are put in to implementing the Green, smart roads and we will further analyse how far did both the nations implemented their ideas and how much effect did it show and we will go through the Solar power produced, support for electrical vehicles, Automation improved and Iot (Internet of things) implemented for less human interactions and more advancement in transportation.
The thesis analysis the car parks’ elements and the factors that influence the drivers’ behaviour on them. Then makes an approach to the definition of the strategy of how the car drivers search for free parking spaces. The reason for it is that there is a need to assess car parks’ design parameters in the terms of their performance. One of the decisive factors is also the drivers’ behaviour. A car park simulation based on the environment of matrices is designed and implemented in MATLAB. The algorithm for searching for the parking spaces is designed and implemented within that as well. The results of the simulation are presented.
The principal objective of this thesis is to execute a priority system for public transport buses at a signalized intersection. Based on the actual demand for buses, a dedicated bus lane is proposed to provide spatio-temporal priority. The optimal location was examined with the help of microscopic simulation software before bus lanes were introduced in the network. Bus priority lanes interrupted the existing traffic flow pattern and compelled straight-ahead vehicles to shift into adjacent lanes. Therefore, median turning lanes were added to improve the capacity of mainstreams. A fixed-time signal program with an additional transit priority phase was designed to accommodate peak-hour traffic flow. In order to achieve variabilities in the cycle length, a vehicle-actuated signal controller was implemented to operate the modeled intersection, which responds to the real-time traffic demand.
A simulation test was performed in VISSIM on both the actual and modeled intersection. Comprehensive result analysis in terms of travel time, vehicle delays, and queue lengths was made to determine the performance and saturation level of the selected intersection.
ABSTRACT
Traffic congestion is a worldwide issue seen in various metropolitan cities. The reason for the existence of traffic congestion is overpopulation and high volumes of private cars that the roads are not able to sustain. The causes of traffic congestion are accidents, pollution, rush hours, bus bunching, and delays. Data and statistics are provided for traffic congestion related to rush hours. The benefits of public transportation such as buses are discussed. In this paper various forms of transit signal priority (TSP) strategies are assessed. TSP is a strategy that improves public transportation. The goal is to lessen congestion, lessen wait times, lessen travel times, and improve the service. Various forms of transit signal priority are researched and analyzed such as green wave, red truncation, dedicated bus lanes, queue jumps, etc.
The principal objective and aim of this thesis are improving traffic flow at the intersections of 2nd avenue @ 97th street, 2nd avenue @ 98th street and 2nd avenue @ 99th street in Manhattan. VISSIM will be utilized in implementing and setting up a high-quality microscopic simulation model of the signalized intersection in Manhattan. Providing prioritization for public transportation (specifically buses). Analyzing deficiencies in the traffic flow at the intersection 2nd avenue @ 97th, 98 and 99th street. The real time aspects will be considered on the selected intersections such as traffic signal coordination, speeds, pedestrians, various types of vehicles, public transportation, and bus stops.
There will be two models simulated: one that simulates the real time conditions. The second model in VISSIM implement changes to traffic flow on signalized intersection through V-A controller logic system. Improved signalization utilizes tsp and shows changes to congestion by giving buses priority with the help of detectors on signalized intersections. The aim of this model is to provide priority to buses and allows them special treatment; ultimately improves the bus service and traffic congestion.
KEYWORDS:
Bus priority, transit signal priority, detectors, public transportation, green extension, V-A Signal controller.
Vehicular emission is often the main source of air pollution. The chief pollutants react with air and secondary pollutants resulting in adverse effects to the environment. European commission has legislated laws in order to reduce the air pollution from vehicular emissions.
Traffic modelling has been used for many decades and particularly in the last decade, flow of traffic based on vehicle type has been used to estimate emission of polluting gases and particles. Passenger car and Heavy duty Emission Model (PHEM) is used along with microscopic traffic flow simulation software VISSIM (In German: Verkehr In Städten – SIMulationsmodell meaning "Traffic in cities - simulation model") for estimation of major two major pollutants of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides) and particulate matter emitted from passenger cars and heavy-duty vehicles, based on their technical performance characteristics in a traffic flow at a typical German motorway segment. With a country’s fixed fleet composition for a particular year, PHEM gives fuel consumption and emission as outputs using fuel types used (diesel or petrol) and based on the trajectories of the vehicles.
This study is planned to exploit the developments and investigate the validation of this software with HBEFA. Different 25 scenarios are created for a German motorway segment with varying traffic behaviours; and the emission results between two emission modelling software tools are compared.
Railways is one of the most important ways of transporting people and goods from place to another in the whole world. In Germany, it comes as the second most used way of transport. The German railways network is so big and covers the whole maps of Germany. That is why it is so important to develop and improve the performance of it. At this thesis work, the performance of every route at the German railways is calculated using a digital model which is created in PTV Visum software using the programming language python. Furthermore, the workload of every node (junction) at the German Railways is calculated, and according to that, recommendations to build an overpass structure at the overloaded Junctions is suggested to improve the capacity of this Junctions.
Development and testing of a measuring system for recording mechanical loads on industrial batteries
(2019)
The Faculty of Languages at the University of Applied Sciences Zwickau has a knowledge
base on critical incidents. Critical incidents capture and structure insights from critical situations in international mobility [Fet15]. With the rapid development of data and information, the
research platform CIs to Go has a clear need for a central search infrastructure that will allow
users to find and discover more relevant critical incidenst (or intercultural experinces as named
in the research platform CIs to Go). The data and information about critical incidents are stored
in open-source relational database management system PostgreSQL.
Nowadays it is inconceivable to use traditional RDBMS tools to analyze the data as they
grow very fast. The amount of information has steadily increased for years. Big Data provides
a solution for analyzing large amounts of data. Many search engine providers offer the solution
for analyzing large volumes of data, and companies are looking for open source solutions that
can quickly and reliably search, analyze, and evaluate large volumes of data. Elasticsearch
is a Lucene based search engine. Elasticsearch uses the concept of indexing to speed up the
search. This search engine provides a variety of options for free text queries, fuzzy matching
and indexing data. First, search engines and NLP toolkits are reviewed. This thesis also defines
the functional requirements of these tools. Then, an evaluation is given by indicating the positive
and negative aspects of the tools.
This thesis presents a complete search engine to be deployed on the research platform CIs
to Go as a new visual tool that helps in the process of searching for and finding intercultural
experiences.
In this paper, we propose cache replacement strategies based on the machine learning methods. As part of this work, we analyse the data provided for caching, design, and train Random Forest Regression and Gradient Boosting Decision Trees to predict the popularity of web objects. Finally we compare the proposed strategies with policies traditionally used for cache replacement to evaluate their applicability.
Between Clash of Civilizations and Global Identity - the Interdependence of Culture and Economics
(2019)
Our life is becoming faster, more connected and more global - this developments have a lot of positive but also negative effects. Being fearful towards the "different" is a growing phenomenon and the question arises of we heading towards a global identity or a clash of civilizations, which factors play the important parts and how did they come into existence. By using North African immigration in France as an example, an approach is made to put this topic in a smaller context in order to see where the scenario is heading to and what is conducive and/or detrimental.
The purpose of this study is to bring China closer to the audience, especially from the marketing perspective. The automotive industry, textile industry, technological industry, food, and beverage industries and much more have developed themselves in the Chinese market. Subsequently, the writer chose one sector of the technology industry, which are smartphones. The focus of this thesis is already available smartphone brands in China. The perception of smartphone brands should help in determining how the producing country is looked at, if the image clouds the judgment and if consumers are loyal to brands. These insights allow us to draw conclusions and recommendations for the communication and design of smartphone brands.
This thesis will examine the process of internationalization which generates international changes and growth, entry into new markets and the creation of new businesses. Projecting this on the sports industry, businessmen tend to take more risks than a few decades ago in the interest of becoming more competitive. The sports industry is used to transmit multiple messages as it reaches global audiences. The term sports covers much more than the physical activity. The term also comprises possibilities for lucrative business actions, sponsoring and image creation. Furthermore, it induces a pooling of diverse cultures. Thanks to this boundary-spanning connection of sportsmen and arising opportunities to increase sales, managers have decided to go international and to expand their company
China is planning to rebuild the ancient Silk Road into a modern infrastructre network, spanning Asia, Central Asia and Europe. The investements are high and are not paying off. This thesis is exploring the political reasons for China's plans and the impact the initiative has on the Chinese-Kazakh relationship.
An omnipresent topic in the economic news of the current year 2018 were the
developments regarding the smoldering trade dispute between the USA and China.
Within short periods of time, a downright exchange of strikes between the
administrations of the two countries evolved, with the President of the USA, Donald
Trump, in particular, pithily announcing to China an increasingly serious threat of
sanctions. Although the Chinese side was noticeably striving to de-escalate the verbal
dispute, it also presented a series of sanctions which were described in the relevant
press as so-called retaliatory tariffs.
The reason behind this diplomatic duel, however, has substance. It is evident that the
USA and China share an exceptional status with regard to economic fundamentals.
The US has the largest international trade deficit of US$ 375.2 billion vis-à-vis China.
China, on the other hand, is by far the largest creditor of the USA on an international
scale and currently holds around US$ 1.2 trillion in government bonds. Accordingly,
China exerts a major economic influence over the USA. This objective situation
opposes the subjective self-reflection of the government under President Trump, which
hardly misses an opportunity to operate on an international level with the help of
supposed deals according to the credo "America first".