The UCF Driving simulator was used to test a proposed pavement-marking design. This marking is placed upstream of signalized intersections to assist the motorists with advance warning concerning the occurrence of the clearance interval. The results of the experiment have indicated promising results for intersection safety. Firstly compared to regular intersections, the pavement marking could results in a 74.3 percent reduction in red-light running. In comparison, the pavement marking reduced the number of occurrences where drivers chose to continue through an intersection when it was not safe to proceed compared to the without marking, and this result is correlated to less red-light running rate with marking. According to survey results, all of the tested subjects gave a positive evaluation of the pavement-marking countermeasure and nobody felt confused or uncomfortable when they made stop-go decision. In comparison between scenarios without marking and with marking, there is no significant difference found in the operation speeds and drivers brake response time, which proved that the marking has no significantly negative effect on driver behaviors at intersections. The UCF driving simulator was also used to test vertical and horizontal visibility blockages. For the horizontal visibility blockage, two sub-scenarios were designed, and the results confirmed that LTVs contribute to the increase of rear-end collisions on the roads. This finding may be contributed to the fact that LTVs cause horizontal visibility blockage. Indeed, the results showed that passenger car drivers behind LTVs are prone to speed more and to keep a small gap with the latter relatively to driving behind passenger cars. From the survey analysis 65% of the subjects said that they drive close to LTVs in real life. As for the vertical visibility blockage, three sub-scenarios were designed in the driving simulator, and the results confirmed that LSVs increase the rate of red light running significantly due to vertical visibility blockage of the traffic signal pole. However, the behavior of the drivers when they drive behind LSVs is not different then their behavior when drive behind passenger cars. The suggested addition of the traffic signal pole on the side of the road significantly decreased the red light running rate. Moreover, 65% of the subjects driving behind an LSV with the proposed additional traffic signal pole said that the traffic signal pole is effective and that it should be applied to real world.

There are a number of marvelous books that address the topic of the case method. If you are interested in facilitating cases, you can look to the classic book Teaching and the Case Method by Louis Barnes, C. Roland Christensen and Abby Hansen (1994). The collection of essays on the subject, Education for Judgment: The Artistry of Discussion Leadership by C. Roland Christensen, David Garvin and Ann Sweet (1991) is a wonderful and inspiring read as well. If your interest is case-based research, it would be nearly impossible to find a more authoritative source than Robert Yin’s (2009, 4th Edition) Case Study Research: Design and Methods, which (at last count) has been cited nearly 29,000 times, according to Google Scholar. There is even a new entry to the field, William Ellet’s (2007) The Case Study Handbook: How to Read, Discuss, and Write Persuasively about Cases that is specifically aimed at the student. At first glance, then, the topic of case studies in education and research seems to be pretty well covered. Do we really need another book on the subject? I write this book believing the answer is yes. While I have great affection for the classics, there are a number of issues facing most business faculty—not to mention faculty members from disciplines outside of business—that these books simply do not address. In writing this book, my intention is to offer some thoughts on some of these. Paradoxically, these omissions arise from the very fact that the authors of the classics are undisputed masters of their craft. Why this is a problem should become clear as I identify the three areas of focus for this book. The first issue that I feel must be considered is using the case method with a novice audience. Consider the following. When I was enrolled in the MBA program at Harvard Business School (HBS) in the early 1980s, the curriculum consisted of nearly 900 case discussion (15 per week) and—perhaps—as many as 20 class periods given over to lecture-style presentations. When I teach a case-method graduate course at my own institution, on the other hand, I am constrained to 11 case discussions (a 12 week semester). As it happens, I am also the only course in the entire program that employs pedagogy reasonably faithful to the case method, as it is normally defined. The math is very simple. By the last day of my semester, my students have as much experience discussing cases as I did on Thursday afternoon of the first week of my two year MBA program at HBS. With the exception of faculty teaching at those rare institutions that have chosen to widely adopt the case method, the situation I face is commonplace. The second concern that existing books raise for me is their tendency to focus on isolated topics. Specifically, case facilitation, case writing and case research are treated as separable activities. I would argue that these three aspects of the case method—which I define quite broadly—are inseparable. For institutions that wish to achieve the full set of benefits provided by the case method, all three activities must be pursued in parallel. Perhaps this is why so few institutions have achieved success through the case method. In this book, I will argue that achieving such integration is precisely why those rare institutions have been so successful. Once you start believing that the case method can be a key to institutional success, how you get there becomes a real challenge. At leading institutions featuring the case method, such as HBS, the philosophy is largely learned through a period of apprenticeship. For example, I did not encounter any of the references mentioned in the first paragraph—excepting Yin—at any time during my 5 year doctorate at HBS. Instead, I went out and wrote cases, facilitated discussions and did research under the guidance of faculty members who were masters of the craft. How can someone without the benefit of such an experience acquire such mastery? While I cannot offer any promises in this regard, I will at least provide some examples and easy-to-follow checklists that may be of service to individuals getting started.

Foundations for Designing User-Centered Systems introduces the fundamental human capabilities and characteristics that influence how people use interactive technologies. Organized into four main areas—anthropometrics, behaviour, cognition and social factors—it covers basic research and considers the practical implications of that research on system design. Applying what you learn from this book will help you to design interactive systems that are more usable, more useful and more effective. The authors have deliberately developed Foundations for Designing User-Centered Systems to appeal to system designers and developers, as well as to students who are taking courses in system design and HCI. The book reflects the authors’ backgrounds in computer science, cognitive science, psychology and human factors. The material in the book is based on their collective experience which adds up to almost 90 years of working in academia and both with, and within, industry; covering domains that include aviation, consumer Internet, defense, eCommerce, enterprise system design, health care, and industrial process control.

Freakonomics was a worldwide sensation, selling more than four million copies. Now Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner return with SuperFreakonomics, and fans and newcomers alike will find that this freakquel is even bolder, funnier, and more surprising than the first. SuperFreakonomics challenges the way we think all over again, with such questions as: How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa? What's the best way to catch a terrorist? What do hurricanes, heart attacks, and highway deaths have in common? Are people hardwired for altruism or selfishness? Can eating kangaroo save the planet? Levitt and Dubner mix smart thinking and great storytelling like no one else, whether investigating a solution to global warming or explaining why the price of oral sex has fallen so drastically.