Assignments performed by students for submission have a dual purpose. They are intended as educational devices, including the teaching of skills such as working in teams. They are also evaluation tools for the faculty in judging the quality of performance of individual students. Our policies are intended to balance these two purposes and, unless otherwise stated, these policies apply to all assignments.
Students currently taking this class can work together to conceptualize general approaches to assignments. However, unless otherwise specified for a particular assignment, the work you submit should be done completely on your own. This includes text, numerical calculations, mathematical derivations, diagrams, graphs, computer programs and output. Reference any source (written, electronic, interview, etc.) you use in your submission. It is inappropriate to use assignments submitted in previous years as a source.
Assignment 1: ITS Perspectives
This assignment is intended to build your understanding of ITS from a perspective that is of interest to you. In this assignment, we ask you to play the role of a vice president, or public-sector equivalent, in an organization in which ITS has the potential to be relevant. You are asked to write a 7-page memo (not including tables or charts) to the Chief Executive Officer, or public-sector equivalent, of your organization, discussing the challenges and opportunities that ITS creates for your organization.
So, for example, you could work for
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The MBTA
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General Motors
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Rand McNally
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The Massachusetts Highway Department
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The Big Dig
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The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
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The U. S. Department of Transportation (under the George W. Bush administration)
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The National Science Foundation
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The House of Representatives Infrastructure Committee (concerned with the re-authorization of TEA-21)
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any other organization that you would deem reflects your interests and perspectives on ITS.
There is no fixed format for this memo. Proper structuring of it is part of the assignment.
We recognize that we are at the beginning, not the end, of 1.212, and that your understanding of ITS issues will build during the subject. This provides a benchmark, though, at the early stages of the subject and it will be useful and interesting to contrast your views now with your more developed views in May.
Your paper should draw upon references in ITS literature, your own understanding of transportation and ITS, and should conclude with a recommendation to your CEO about an ITS strategy for your organization.
Assignment 2: Mini Term Paper
"Mini" Term Paper (about 10 pages -- topic to be "negotiated" with Professor Sussman); submitted right after Spring Break.
A. Critical review of selected ITS literature
B. A paper or analysis on some topic of interest to you.
Examples:
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ITS: Perspectives of an Environmentalist
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Cost/Benefit Analysis of ATIS Technology
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Network Algorithms: Some Ideas
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Traffic Light/Expressway Coordination: State of the Art
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Is Transportation Capacity Politically Correct?
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Regional Development and ITS
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ITS and Sprawl
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ITS and Intermodal Freight