The appropriate framework to capture and share location information with mobile applications enable the development of interfaces and interface techniques that empower users to obtain and share information on the go. As such, the work in this thesis makes two major contributions. First is the SeeVT framework, a locative backbone that uses currently-available data and equipment in the Virginia Tech and Blacksburg VA environments (e.g., wireless signal triangulation, GPS signals) to make available to applications the location of the device in use. Applications built on this framework have available knowledge of the region in which the user's device is located. Second is a set of four applications built on the SeeVT framework: SeeVT – Alumni Edition (a guide for alumni returning to campus, often after lengthy absences), the Newman Project (a library information system for finding books and other library resources), VTAssist (a information sharing system for disabled users), and SeeVT-Art (a guide for users in our local inn and conference center to learn about the art on display). Key in this contribution is our identification and discussion of three interface techniques that emerged from our development efforts: an images-first presentation of information, a lightweight mobile augmented reality style of interaction, and locative content affordances that provide ways to quickly input focused types of information in mobile situations. / Master of Science

Agritourism in Virginia is a rapidly growing industry that adds additional income to a farming operation, and helps mitigate risk. Therefore it has become a good strategy for farmers to generate higher levels of profit, but much of the literature in Virginia and surrounding states focuses more on the motivations of operators for starting their agritourism venture. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to empirically analyze demographic, operational, and financial factors and evaluate their correlation with higher levels of profit. The first step was to apply key factors in industrial location discussed by Sloagett and Woods (2003) to agritourism in Virginia. Next, a survey was conducted to produce primary source data on Virginia agritourism operators and how these success factors relate to their ventures. Initial findings suggest a very homogenous demographic amongst operators. In addition, there were four other main findings. First, promotion is highly important and there is a need for increased road signage in Virginia. Second, additional income is a large motivator among operators and 76% of operations indicated their business was somewhat profitable. Third, those near the metropolitan areas of Virginia Beach, Roanoke, and Washington, D.C. tended to have the highest perceived profitability. Finally, operators are highly afflicted by obstacles such as road signage, finding qualified employees, and taxation, all of which can be addressed or mitigated by the state government. The final portion of this paper tests the relationship between these factors and profitability of agritourism operations in Virginia. The empirical results reveal that those operators with a motivation for addition income and higher levels of education, with more acreage, with a higher percentage of their gross farm income attributed to agritourism, and those, on average, that have greater money spent per visitor all correlate with higher levels of profit. On the other hand, the following characteristics appear to have a negative effect on agritourism profits: wineries, greater estimated time to the nearest interstate and difficult access to capital. Assuming operators of agritourism venues seek to maximize profits, these findings illustrate to current and future operators how to adjust procedures and improve their business strategies. / Master of Science

Wireless communication has enjoyed explosive growth over the past decade. As demands for increased capacity and quality grow, improved methods for harnessing the multipath wireless channel must be developed. The use of adaptive antenna arrays is one area that shows promise for improving capacity of wireless systems and providing improved safety through position location capabilities. These arrays can be used for interference rejection through spatial filtering, position location through direction finding measurements, and developing improved channel models through angle of arrival channel sounding measurements. This thesis provides an overview of the technical challenges involved in position location of wireless users and details the hardware development of a multi-sensor testbed at the Mobile and Portable Radio Research Group at Virginia Tech. This testbed is to be used for position location experiments as well as a host of other adaptive signal processing applications. / Master of Science

We consider the lower-bounded facility location (LBFL) problem (, also known as load-balanced facility location), which is a generalization of uncapacitated facility location (UFL) problem where each open facility is required to serve a minimum number of clients. More formally, in the LBFL problem, we are given a set of clients Ɗ , a set of facilities Ƒ, a non-negative facility-opening cost f_i for each i ∈ Ƒ, a lower bound M, and a distance metric c(i,j) on the set Ɗ ∪ Ƒ, where c(i,j) denotes the cost of assigning client j to facility i. A feasible solution S specifies the set of open facilities F_S ⊆ Ƒ and the assignment of each client j to an open facility i(j) such that each open facility serves at least M clients. Our goal is to find feasible solution S that minimizes ∑_{i ∈ F_S} f_i + ∑_j c(i,j). The current best approximation ratio for LBFL is 550. We substantially advance the state-of-the-art for LBFL by devising an approximation algorithm for LBFL that achieves a significantly-improved approximation guarantee of 83.

We consider the lower-bounded facility location (LBFL) problem (, also known as load-balanced facility location), which is a generalization of uncapacitated facility location (UFL) problem where each open facility is required to serve a minimum number of clients. More formally, in the LBFL problem, we are given a set of clients Ɗ , a set of facilities Ƒ, a non-negative facility-opening cost f_i for each i ∈ Ƒ, a lower bound M, and a distance metric c(i,j) on the set Ɗ ∪ Ƒ, where c(i,j) denotes the cost of assigning client j to facility i. A feasible solution S specifies the set of open facilities F_S ⊆ Ƒ and the assignment of each client j to an open facility i(j) such that each open facility serves at least M clients. Our goal is to find feasible solution S that minimizes ∑_{i ∈ F_S} f_i + ∑_j c(i,j). The current best approximation ratio for LBFL is 550. We substantially advance the state-of-the-art for LBFL by devising an approximation algorithm for LBFL that achieves a significantly-improved approximation guarantee of 83.

D.Comm. / The South African Petroleum Industry is very competitive and is vital to the economic growth of the country. It is the basis for much of the nation's productivity, from keeping national transport flowing to producing products and services. The South African Petroleum Industry Association (SAPIA) was formed to further matters of common interest amongst competitive providers of Petroleum Industry Road Conveniences (PIRCs), and to promote good ethics, high industrial standards, competent governance and effective communications within the industry. PIRCs are distributed on most South African roads. This study emphasises and focuses on the location of PIRCs on national routes only. Various factors and theories, which influence the location of a PIRC, are analysed by means of a literature study, personal investigation and practical experience. Attention is given to the physical and legal aspects, which can influence the location of a PIRC. Thereafter, the macro, market and micro considerations are discussed. Particular attention is given to Porter's Five Forces of Competitiveness and the value chain.

Retail geography is a field of study that is growing in significance and importance within the academic, business, economic, and governmental realms. This study's main focus is on the changing retail environment with regards to business location and function within a small Midwestern city. The research focuses on Port Huron, Michigan because of the growth and shift of the retail community within the city over the past twenty years. The study specifically examines the changing influence and roles of Port Huron's central business district and of Birchwood Mall a retail development opened on the urban area's north end in 1990. The study uses the chi-squared, ANOVA, and cross tabulation statistical tests to analyze the changing geography of retail functions in the city. These statistics are used along with relative entropy equations to distinguish areas of high diversification, changing area functions, and common locations for multiple retail types.

abstract: Due to environmental and geopolitical reasons, many countries are embracing electric vehicles (EVs) as an alternative to gasoline powered automobiles. Other alternative-fuel vehicles (AFVs) powered by compressed gas, hydrogen or biodiesel have also been tested for replacing gasoline powered vehicles. However, since the associated refueling infrastructure of AFVs is sparse and is gradually being built, the distance between recharging points (RPs) becomes a crucial prohibitive attribute in attracting drivers to use such vehicles. Optimally locating RPs will both increase demand and help in developing the refueling infrastructure. The major emphasis in this dissertation is the development of theories and associated algorithms for a new set of location problems defined on continuous network space related to siting multiple RPs for range limited vehicles. This dissertation covers three optimization problems: locating multiple RPs on a line network, locating multiple RPs on a comb tree network, and locating multiple RPs on a general tree network. For each of the three problems, finding the minimum number of RPs needed to refuel all Origin-Destination (O-D) flows is considered as the first objective. For this minimum number, the location objective is to locate this number of RPs to minimize weighted sum of the travelling distance for all O-D flows. Different exact algorithms are proposed to solve each of the three algorithms. In the first part of this dissertation, the simplest case of locating RPs on a line network is addressed. Scenarios include single one-way O-D pair, multiple one-way O-D pairs, round trips, etc. A mixed integer program with linear constraints and quartic objective function is formulated. A finite dominating set (FDS) is identified, and based on the existence of FDS, the problem is formulated as a shortest path problem. In the second part, the problem is extended to comb tree networks. Finally, the problem is extended to general tree networks. The extension to a probabilistic version of the location problem is also addressed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Industrial Engineering 2020

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This research investigates the location choices of gaming industry in Malmö, focusing on factors influencing both small and large firms. Through eight semi-structured interviews and analysis of media archive documents, the research explored the twofold nature of location decisions: the choice of Malmö as a city and the selection of specific locations within Malmö. This study shows that gaming firms consider a combination of hard and soft location factors when choosing to locate in Malmö. Key hard factors include the presence of a strong gaming community, access to high-skilled talent, proximity to other gaming companies, proximity to Copenhagen airport, and public investments from the city and region. The primary soft factor identified is the cultural aspects of the city. Personal connections the founders of the firms had with Malmö played a significant role in the location decisions of small firms. Furthermore, the study highlights differences in location preferences between small and large gaming firms when choosing a specific location within Malmö. Small firms prioritized hard location factors such as affordable office space over soft location factors while big firms prioritized soft location factors such as quality of the building and the size of office space to accommodate the employees over hard location factors. This study contributes to the understanding of location choices in the gaming industry and underscores the importance of tailoring urban development strategies to accommodate the diverse needs of gaming firms. By recognizing the distinct preferences of small and large firms, policymakers can implement targeted interventions to foster a conducive environment for gaming industry growth in Malmö and beyond. Future research should explore comparative analyses across cities to gain broader insights into industry dynamics and inform tailored strategies for urban development in gaming cities.