The dissertation explores the ability of light to embody and enhance the spirit of place in the Big Bend section of West Texas. A series of surveys and research investigated and then paired elements of light and place that were designed, and installed or simulated, in four experiential case studies. The case studies were evaluated by published authors of light and place and the dissertation committee and deemed mostly successful. Light installations can be embodied and enhance the spirit of place, the installations which were experienced “live” did this most effectively.

States are increasingly using toll roads as a means of financing transportation capital needs as well as expanding transportation system capacity. Whether toll roads can attract trucks partially determines the performance of the investment. Unfortunately, the low profit margin in the trucking industry and the relatively high tolls truckers pay leads to their reluctance to use toll facilities. Incentives for truck use of a toll road, State Highway 130 (SH 130) near Austin, Texas, were analyzed in this research. As a parallel toll road to the non-tolled, congested facility Interstate 35 (I-35), SH 130 was projected to carry a lot of traffic, including a significant proportion of trucks. In order to make this tolled facility more attractive to trucks, innovative incentives were considered. The potential truck demand for SH 130 and their potential reactions to the incentives were estimated in this research based on survey data. According to survey responses, different groups of the trucking industry had very different characteristics. Due to the variation of the characteristics among different categories of trucks, truckers’ travel behavior and incentive preference were also different by trucking group. Compared with other groups of truckers, smaller companies (owner-operators) were the least likely to use SH 130, while private carriers were the most likely to use SH 130. It was also found many truckers had already made adjustments both to their time and route to avoid traveling in congested conditions. Among all the categories of truckers, for-hire truckers had the least flexibility. The average value of travel time savings of trucks around the Austin area was $44.20 per hour. As the price of travel time savings went up, the percentage of truckers using SH 130 decreased. Price-related incentives were discovered to be most popular with truckers. Among all of the price-related incentives, off-peak discounts and a free trip after a number of paid trips were the most popular incentives.

No description available.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Michigan, 1936. / Caption title. Thesis note on label attached to p. [1]. "1935 Preprint ... American society for testing materials ... 75."

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-131). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Environmental and Engineering Geology))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Road ecology is becoming an increasingly important aspect of conservation biology. Carcasses lying on the road often confront visitors travelling to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park between Upington and the Twee Rivieren Rest Camp. This study investigated the species killed, the factors contributing to their deaths, and suggested solutions to curtail these mortalities. Twelve surveys to record mammal and bird road mortalities were conducted on the R360 main road between Upington and Twee Rivieren (261 km) from January to September 2007. One hundred and eighty four carcasses were recorded from 22 species, and the most common taxa killed were the bat-eared fox (n = 47) and spotted eagle owl (n = 10). The road mortality rate on the R360 road was very high, 5.44 mammals and 1.14 birds per 100 km. Birds were predominantly killed in summer. Notably more nocturnal mammals were killed than diurnal and ‘indistinct’ species. A mammal hotspot was identified along the 91 km of road that traversed the Gordonia duneveld. Since the nine roadside traffic warning signs erected on the R360 road had no measurable impact on road mortalities, it is recommend that three rumble strip sections with accompanying signage be erected in the hotspot to slow down vehicles and curtail mortalities.

No description available.

The Home Committee Report, published in 1985, identified the need for the reinstatement of service trench backfill to be performed to a higher and more reliable standard. This end was perceived as desirable, not only to improve road quality and safety, but also to increase the protection afforded to utility apparatus, thereby reducing the number of excavations required for its repair and replacement. The replacement of existing method specifications with a performance specification, based on the testing of an appropriate property of the reinstated material, is one possible means of improving the quality of reinstatement works. The Clegg meter is finding increasing usage for the purpose of compaction measurement. This device is simple to use and measures the decceleration response of a mass in collision with the ground surface. The decelartaion response is characterised by the Impact Value. The sampled volume is, however, very small in relation to the volume of material compacted and, for full evaluation, each compacted layer must be individually tested prior to the placing of the subsequent layer. The ideal test would be non-intrusive and operable from the final surface of the granular backfill; wave transmission velocity measurements are thus a potential technique. The propagation of sinusoidally excited Rayleigh-type surface waves is identified as the most promising method of measurement for reinstatement backfill quality. Experimental measurements of particle displacement at depth lend credence to the classical assumption that the depth of propagation of Rayleigh-type surface waves is equal to one-half the wavelength (z = γ/2).Included in this thesis is a review of the salient aspects of reinstatement works and a presentation of the necessary theory of wave propagation. The experimental results presented relate to tests on two sand materials compacted using different levels of compactive effort in all above-ground laboratory based trench and also to tests conducted on a crushed limestone aggregate under field conditions. Results from a short programme of field-based case studies are also presented. In addition to the surface wave velocity and Impact Value results, values for dry density and CBR are also presented. The data generally show a good correlation with compactive effort, whether defined simply as the number of passes/layer (N(_p)) or by a new parameter, the ratio of N(_p) to the mean layer thickness (N(_p)/h). Sensitivity analyses indicate that the Impact Value is a more sensitive measure of the degree of compaction than are either the surface wave velocity or the dry density. Conversion of the surface wave velocity results to shear modulus values, using measured density values, gives a sensitivity to compactive effort that is broadly comparable to that of the Impact Value. A novel technique for the analysis of Rayleigh-type surface wave attenuation data is presented. This allows the calculation of the material attenuation coefficient while obviating the need for potentially erroneous estimates as to the state of the attenuation curve, close to the source of vibration, to be made.