Yaning Qiao

Bio: Yaning Qiao is an academic researcher from China University of Mining and Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Climate change & Life-cycle cost analysis. The author has an hindex of 10, co-authored 38 publications receiving 347 citations. Previous affiliations of Yaning Qiao include University of New Hampshire & University of Nottingham.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mobility in ten countries and associated perceived risk for all transport modes.

Abstract: The restrictive measures implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have triggered sudden massive changes to travel behaviors of people all around the world. This study examines the individual mobility patterns for all transport modes (walk, bicycle, motorcycle, car driven alone, car driven in company, bus, subway, tram, train, airplane) before and during the restrictions adopted in ten countries on six continents: Australia, Brazil, China, Ghana, India, Iran, Italy, Norway, South Africa and the United States. This cross-country study also aims at understanding the predictors of protective behaviors related to the transport sector and COVID-19. Findings hinge upon an online survey conducted in May 2020 (N = 9,394). The empirical results quantify tremendous disruptions for both commuting and non-commuting travels, highlighting substantial reductions in the frequency of all types of trips and use of all modes. In terms of potential virus spread, airplanes and buses are perceived to be the riskiest transport modes, while avoidance of public transport is consistently found across the countries. According to the Protection Motivation Theory, the study sheds new light on the fact that two indicators, namely income inequality, expressed as Gini index, and the reported number of deaths due to COVID-19 per 100,000 inhabitants, aggravate respondents' perceptions. This research indicates that socio-economic inequality and morbidity are not only related to actual health risks, as well documented in the relevant literature, but also to the perceived risks. These findings document the global impact of the COVID-19 crisis as well as provide guidance for transportation practitioners in developing future strategies.

Examining Effects of Climatic Factors on Flexible Pavement Performance and Service Life

Abstract: The potential risk of climate change raises interest in how it may affect the deterioration rates of flexible pavements and how pavement service lives would be altered as a consequence. Previous studies demonstrated that temperature is the most influential environmental factor for the Mechanistic–Empirical Pavement Design Guide. In this study, temperature factors, both the increase in average annual temperature and the seasonal variation in temperature, are examined through a sensitivity analysis. The sensitivity of the pavement performance to temperature as well as other environmental factors such as precipitation, wind speed, percent sunshine, and groundwater level is included as a comparison. This study concluded that temperature factors, both the increase in average annual temperature and the seasonal variation, are the most influential in pavement performance. Moreover, pavement service life may experience considerable reduction because of climate change in some regions if design is not adapted to th...

Environmental aspects and pavement properties of red mud waste as the replacement of mineral filler in asphalt mixture

Abstract: The red mud waste generated from the alumina refining industry, which remains high alkalinity and problematic pollutants, is occupying considerable land resource and causing significant environmental problems worldwide. Instead of landfills, the utilization of the red mud waste as a substitution of mineral filler in asphalt pavement mixtures has been investigated in this study. The physical and chemical properties of the red mud waste were first characterized. The experimental tests including softening point, penetration, dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) and multiple stress creep recovery (MSCR) were then conducted to evaluate the properties of asphalt mastic. Based on the results on leaching toxicity and radioactivity, the red mud waste had no risk to be used as a building material. Moreover, the addition of red mud waste can improve the stiffness and elasticity of asphalt mastic. The increased rutting parameter and the decreased accumulated creep strain were further found, especially the Sintering RM. In addition, the Sintering RM had the capability to improve the elastic recovery of asphalt mastic, while the Bayer RM had limited contribution to this behavior. Consequently, the red mud waste can be concerned as a secondary resource to replace the natural mineral filler for asphalt pavements.

Evaluating the effects of climate change on road maintenance intervention strategies and Life-Cycle Costs

Abstract: Climate change has the potential to impact long-term road pavement performance. Consequently, to maintain pavements within the same ranges of serviceability as before, current pavement maintenance strategies need to be re-assessed and, if necessary, changed. Changes in maintenance may lead to different agency costs and user costs as a consequence. This paper commences by defining an assessment procedure, showing how maintenance intervention strategies and Life-Cycle Costs (LCC) may be affected by future climate. A typical Virginia flexible pavement structure and anticipated climate change was used as an example. This example is believed to be representative for a great number of localities in the United States. A method using historical climatic data and climate change projections to predict pavement performance using Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) under current or future climate was introduced. Based on pavement performance prediction, maintenance interventions were planned and optimized. The maintenance effects of three treatments (thin overlay, thin overlay with an intermediate layer, and mill & fill) were considered. A Life-Cycle Cost analysis is reported that used binary non-linear programming to minimize the costs (either agency costs or total costs) by optimizing intervention strategies in terms of type and application time. By these means, the differences in maintenance planning and LCC under current and future climate can be derived. It was found, that for this simplified case study, pavement maintenance and LCC may be affected by climate change Optimized maintenance may improve resilience to climate change in terms of intervention strategy and LCC, compared to responsive maintenance.

Flexible Pavements and Climate Change: A Comprehensive Review and Implications

Abstract: Flexible pavements and climate are interactive. Pavements are climate sensitive infrastructure, where climate can impact their deterioration rate, subsequent maintenance, and life-cycle costs. Meanwhile, climate mitigation measures are urgently needed to reduce the environmental impacts of pavements and related transportation on the macroclimate and microclimate. Current pavement design and life cycle management practices may need to be modified to adapt to changing climates and to reduce environmental impacts. This paper reports an extensive literature search on qualitative and quantitative pavement research related to climate change in recent years. The topics cover climate stressors, sensitivity of pavement performance to climatic factors, impacts of climate change on pavement systems, and, most importantly, discussions of climate change adaptation, mitigation, and their interactions. This paper is useful for those who aim to understand or research the climate resilience of flexible pavements.

Beyond the Usefulness and Ease of Use : Extending the TAM for a World - Wide - Web Context

Abstract: Ease of use and usefulness are believed to be fundamental in determining the acceptance and use of various, corporate ITs. These beliefs, however, may not explain the user’s behavior toward newly emerging ITs, such as the World-Wide-Web (WWW). In this study, we introduce playfulness as a new factor that reflects the user’s intrinsic belief in WWW acceptance. Using it as an intrinsic motivation factor, we extend and empirically validate the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) for the WWW context. # 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Non-pharmaceutical interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A review.

Abstract: Infectious diseases and human behavior are intertwined. On one side, our movements and interactions are the engines of transmission. On the other, the unfolding of viruses might induce changes to our daily activities. While intuitive, our understanding of such feedback loop is still limited. Before COVID-19 the literature on the subject was mainly theoretical and largely missed validation. The main issue was the lack of empirical data capturing behavioral change induced by diseases. Things have dramatically changed in 2020. Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) have been the key weapon against the SARS-CoV-2 virus and affected virtually any societal process. Travel bans, events cancellation, social distancing, curfews, and lockdowns have become unfortunately very familiar. The scale of the emergency, the ease of survey as well as crowdsourcing deployment guaranteed by the latest technology, several Data for Good programs developed by tech giants, major mobile phone providers, and other companies have allowed unprecedented access to data describing behavioral changes induced by the pandemic. Here, I review some of the vast literature written on the subject of NPIs during the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing so, I analyze 348 articles written by more than 2518 authors in the first 12 months of the emergency. While the large majority of the sample was obtained by querying PubMed, it includes also a hand-curated list. Considering the focus, and methodology I have classified the sample into seven main categories: epidemic models, surveys, comments/perspectives, papers aiming to quantify the effects of NPIs, reviews, articles using data proxies to measure NPIs, and publicly available datasets describing NPIs. I summarize the methodology, data used, findings of the articles in each category and provide an outlook highlighting future challenges as well as opportunities.