National multimodal travel information - a strategy based on stakeholder involvement and intelligent transportation system architecture

In Norway, the work on multimodal travel information services is based on ARKTRANS, the national framework architecture for multimodal intelligent transportation systems (ITS). ARKTRANS is harmonised across all transport modes, and arranges for services supporting all phases of door-to-door travel. The authors describe the process towards such services and how they are enabled by ARKTRANS. As a result of ARKTRANS, the experience gained in pilot projects providing new and improved travel information services can be transferred into generic knowledge and used in national, regional and local travel planners. Stakeholder involvement, use of existing solutions and the iterative evolution of services are described as well as the use of the architecture     

Developing a unified set of information covering accessibility at public transport terminals

There is a political wish in Europe to switch more passenger and freight transport from the use of individual cars to public transport methods. Travel planners, consisting of both static and dynamic information, are considered to be a means for encouraging or supporting this shift. An approach to assess the need for information covering the universal design (UD) of terminals and an approach to collect this information are described. The motivation for these studies is the on-going work in Norway to establish a national terminal register that provides basic information for travel planners. The idea of 'universal design' is gaining more and more attention in Norway and it is quickly becoming a politically interesting goal to design and develop the transport services according to guidelines for UD. Terminal accessibility varies greatly. If a disabled person plans a journey, information covering accessibility of the terminals involved in the possible journey is important. However, this type of information is of interest to many other groups of travellers too, for example, people with a baby carriage or with a lot of luggage. The work was done in close cooperation with representatives of all different types of user groups     

Comparison of the surface morphology and microstructure of in situ and ex situ derived YBa2Cu3O7−x thin films

The surface morphology and microstructure of in situ and ex situ derived YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x (YBCO) thin films have been investigated. In situ films were deposited by single-target off-axis sputtering and three-target co-sputtering. Ex situ films were derived by metalorganic deposition (MOD) of trifluoroacetate precursors. Surface defects resulting from mixed a-axis and c-axis orientation as well as secondary phases have been identified in these films. Despite these defects, films with excellent electrical properties have been formed. However, defects interfere with film patterning and the fabrication of multi-layered structures. Several secondary phase precipitates have been identified, including CuO, Y₂O₃, Cu-Ba-O, and Y₂Cu₂O₅. Secondary phases resulting from a lack of stoichiometry can be eliminated by direct composition control in the MOD and three-target sputtering techniques, and by composition control through the application of an externally applied magnetic field in single-target off-axis sputtering. Secondary phases caused by contamination were also identified: Cr-Ba-O in off-axis sputtering, resulting from contamination by the oxidized heater block; and BaSO₄ in MOD, resulting from gas phase impurities. These results suggest that cation composition control is not sufficient to prevent the formation of secondary phases and that small levels of contamination may prevent phasepure material from being formed.