Crowd Levels Research Articles

Hybrid modelling and simulation of huge crowd over a hierarchical Grid architecture

The last decade has witnessed an explosion of the interest in technologies of large simulation with the rapid growth of both the complexity and the scale of problem domains. Modelling & simulation of crowd is a typical paradigm, especially when dealing with large crowd. On top of a hierarchical Grid simulation infrastructure, a simulation of evacuating tens of thousands of pedestrians in an urban area has been constructed. The simulation infrastructure can facilitate a large crowd simulation comprising models of different grains and various types in nature. A number of agent-based and computational models residing at two distinctive administrative domains operate together, which successfully presents the dynamics of the complex scenario at scales of both individual and crowd levels. Experimental results indicate that the proposed hybrid modelling & simulation approach can effectively cope with the size and complexity of a scenario involving a huge crowd.

Real-time Monitoring for the Regional Crowds Status

With the rapid development of the social economy,the massive crowd gathering appears frequently.Personnel casualties often caused by higher crowd density.So,video surveillance technology has become a national policy in many countries.Surveillance cameras have been installed in various important places of the city.Real-time monitoring of the crowds status in crowd gathering area can provide important basis for crowd management and emergency warning.Existing video-based crowd analysis can only monitor crowd status for each camera separately.We cannot get the spatial-temporal patterns of regional crowd status from a spatial perspective.In this paper,we proposed a video-GIS framework for crowd analysis.Video frames can be mapped to geographic space based on the video-GIS framework.So we can process crowd images and extract crowd density,crowd movement vector field in GIS.Then the crowd movement pattern and the main direction of crowd movement can be acquired by the vector field analysis.Finally,we design and implement a real-time monitoring system for the regional crowd status using video surveillance system and GIS.Experimental results show that:(1) previous crowd analysis methods based on the image space can only measure results by the unit of pixels.It requires further conversion if we want to get the real value.But we can get the real value directly when we process crowd images in GIS using the method we proposed.(2) The accuracy of the pixel-based low-density crowd counting estimation results can be up to 90%.The classification accuracy of the high-density crowd levels support vector machine classifier is more than 95%.So,they can fully meet the needs of crowd monitoring.(3) We can get the crowd movement pattern and the main movement direction by the analysis of crowd movement vector field in GIS.Also,we can obtain the speed of the crowd in different directions.These crowd characters all can be expressed in GIS.(4) The system we developed for the crowd monitoring can be applied to crowd management and emergency warning.It can provide decision making basis for emergencies prevention and crowd divert.

Exterior Color and Perceived Retail Crowding: Effects on Tourists' Shopping Quality Inferences and Approach Behaviors

The exterior of a store usually generates the first impression, and this impression could affect shoppers' inferences about a store's service/merchandise quality and could alter their shopping behaviors. Several physical and social elements in the exterior environment may take part in the forming of the first impression, including the crowd. Crowd perceptions do not develop in isolation of other environmental elements of the store exterior. Predominant colors of the store exterior could be a variable that determines tourists' responses to crowd levels. Departing from the limited research on effects of store exteriors, this study contrasted an orange exterior to a blue exterior to explore whether color alters how crowding is perceived. Using a scenario‐based approach, the study further examines the likely effects of perceived crowd on consumer inferences about a store's merchandise and service quality in two differently colored storefronts. A series of t‐tests used in the study indicated that while the crowd level was held constant, the blue‐colored exterior led to significantly lower crowding perception than the orange‐colored exterior. Crowd perceptions in differently colored exteriors produced dissimilar inferences about a store's merchandise and service quality. Finally, participants exposed to a crowd in the blue‐colored exterior condition reported more favorable shopping intentions. Implications of the study are discussed.

The Implications of Coastal Protection and Development on Surfing

The impact of coastal protection on surfing resources is poorly understood and rarely quantified prior to construction. There is an increased requirement for surfing resources worldwide as participation levels in the sport grow. There is also an increased requirement for coastal protection as the occupancy in the coastal zone increases. This research paper takes the first steps towards a schematic categorization of the effect of coastal protection on surfing resources. To do this, we sourced the data through the global network of Surfrider Foundations via questionnaires. These questionnaires enquired about wave quality, crowd levels, stakeholder participation, and the economic importance of surfing to the local area before and after the construction of coastal protection.The results show that of the 30 surfing resources surveyed, 18 experienced a reduction in wave quality and 12 showed an enhancement, or no change, in wave quality.The paper provides an explanation of the results by proposing mechanisms of enhancement and reduction of wave quality after the construction of coastal protection. The conclusion states that coastal protection usually has an effect on the surfing resource that may be positive or negative in terms of the outcome on wave quality and crowd levels.

Preferred and Minimum Acceptable Listening Levels for Musicians While Using Floor and In-Ear Monitors

This study examined the impact that changing on-stage music and crowd noise levels during musical performance had on preferred listening levels (PLLs) and minimum acceptable listening levels (MALLs) across both floor and in-ear monitors. Participants for this study were 23- to 48-year-old musicians, with and without hearing loss, who had 10 years of musical training or comparable professional experience. For this study, PLLs and MALLs were established for the musician's own voice, whereas the levels of other onstage musical signals were systematically varied. PLLs for in-ear monitors were found at significantly lower levels than for floor monitors (approximately 0.6 dB). PLLs for in-ear monitors were found at significantly lower levels than for floor monitors (approximately 0.6 dB). However, despite large spectral differences, PLLs across the 2 monitor types were small enough that the same recommended exposure time would be advocated based on National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommendations. MALL data also indicated significantly lower levels (approximately 6.0 dB) when musicians were using in-ear monitors in comparison to floor monitors. The much larger difference suggests that musicians' risk of noise exposure may be reduced by the use of in-ear monitors. However, given the similar PLL results and known monitor output levels, proper counseling would likely be required before this potential advantage would be realized.