The city of Pittsburgh, PA has been losing population since the steel trade imploded in the 1970's. Every decade, the city lost more inhabitants and began to be hollowed out in the typical fashion of a Rust Belt city. For the first time in four decades, the city saw a rise in population in 2008. Indications show that Pittsburgh is becoming a successful post-industrial city. The average age of the population also lowered, indicating a brighter future. Pittsburgh recently has gained national distinction, being named America's "Most Livable City" by Rand McNally (2007), Forbes (2010) and The Economist(2011). With museums, theaters, a budding arts scene, and three successful professional sports teams, the city is brimming with urban amenities. In many ways, Pittsburgh has been seen as the example that other Rust Belt cities should follow if they too are to transition into the post-industrial age. However, during the challenging economic times over the past forty years, Pittsburgh has missed out on investing in public transit infrastructure. If Pittsburgh is to continue to shed its Smoky City image and further its urban renaissance, it must invest in a modern, comprehensive and integrated regional transit system. The system will act as stitching to reconnect Pittsburgh's urban fabric to its riverfronts as well act as a catalyst for redevelopment of its hollowed neighborhoods. This thesis offers a design for such a system, ranging from the macro scale of a regional network to the micro scale of hub station details. Each chapter examines the situation on a progressively smaller scale and the design principles in each scale's examples can be applied throughout the transit network. / Master of Architecture

Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) systems improve the capacity of weigh station operations significantly by screening trucks while traveling at high speeds and only requiring trucks within a threshold of a maximum permissible gross of axle weight to be weighed on more accurate static scales. Consequently, the operation of a weigh station is highly dependent on the accuracy of the screening WIM system. This thesis develops a procedure for relating axle accuracy to gross vehicle accuracy and develops a field and modeling framework for evaluating weigh station operations. The WIM scale operation at the Stephens City weigh station in Virginia is examined to demonstrate how the field and modeling framework can be applied to evaluate the operation of a weigh station. Specifically, the field evaluation evaluated the accuracy of the WIM technology in addition to the operations of the weigh station in terms of service time, system time, and delay incurred at the static scales. During the field evaluation of the Stephens City WIM load cell system, the WIM technology was found to estimate truck weights to within 6 and 7 percent of the static weights 95 percent of the time. The modeling framework provides a methodology that can be used to determine the effects of the truck demand, the WIM accuracy, the system threshold, and the WIM calibration on system performance. The number of vehicles sent to the static scale and bypass lanes as well as the amount of delay experienced were analyzed for various system characteristics. The proposed framework can be utilized to estimate vehicle delay at a weigh station. / Master of Science

Due to the fact that communication technologies are abruptly changing, and also that the restrictions of broadcasting (channel) industry have been gradually released, regionally AM radio stations are confronting with challenges coming from internal and external environments. Under such a situation of high competitions in media industry, regionally private radio stations are eager to understand their existence values and future development potentials, and which are also the issues that the scholars are intending to investigate. Based on the point of view of business operation, this study is to investigate the mutual relationships among three constructs, including ¡§the listening needs and motives of the community audiences¡¨, ¡§the existence necessity of regional AM radio stations¡¨ and ¡§the interaction effectiveness between radio station and the community public¡¨. Furthermore, this study also investigates the possible influences of the interaction effectiveness (between radio station and the community public) on the business operation of radio station. Through the investigations performed, the existence and development values of radio stations can be then verified. Besides, it is also expected that the operational performance of radio station can be further improved through paying much attention to the interaction effectiveness of being with the community public. The investigation is performed through the questionnaire method, by which the sampling body is regarding the adult audiences of regional AM radio stations in big Tainan area. The number of effective questionnaire is 259. According to the result of statistical analysis conducted, it is found that the audiences still positively evaluate the existence and development of regional AM radio station; and this shows that the audiences still highly are expecting the existence and further development of regional AM radio station. According to the research results, five suggestions are proposed to the regionally AM radio stations, including: (1) make the radio station operation to be more professional, to increase the competence (2) brand-making and market-positioning, to let the audiences to be loyal to these channels (3) adopting the program segmentation, to use the right person, the right time, the right contents (4) periodically holding some activities, to build up the emotion with the audiences (5) linking with the local resources, to build up the local styles. Besides, it is concluded that, at this moment, the strategic ambition and execution capability of the chief conductor of the radio station are the key factors for the success of business operation; and it won¡¦t produce the performance improvement by only talking without further execution.

Thesis (B.A. Hons.)--University of Adelaide, 1960. / Includes bibliographical references.

No abstract available. / Dissertation (MArch (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Architecture / unrestricted

The master´s thesis deals with the design of the transfer terminal on the proposed high speed railway Prague - Hradec Kralove - Wroclaw near the town of Podebrady and exit 39 from the D11 motorway. The work includes the design of station layout, platforms, access roads, bus stops and parking house. As part of the railway station design naintenance base with the loading area. The integral parts of the thesis is design of the railway superstructure, substructure and drainage system.

Detta examensarbete behandlar produktframtagningsprocessen för en portabel laddningsstation för mobila enheter. Arbetet är utfört tillsammans med Thule Groups R&D-avdelning. Arbetet syftar till att presentera en produktidé inom segmentet Bags & Outdoor som ska presenteras genom CAD och renderingar.Det som lägger grunden för arbetet är att det vid vistelse i naturen inte finns tillgång till strömkälla, vilket kan leda till onödig stress och oro för att ens handhållna enhet skall laddas ur. Detta kan vid olycka vara livshotande då räddningstjänst bör påkallas. Det är dessutom viktigt att kunna säkerställa att laddningsstationen kan skydda enheten från yttre påfrestningar.Arbetets bakgrund bottnar i en förstudie där en marknadsanalys har gjorts för att etablera en bild av vad marknaden vill ha. En konkurrensanalys har också gjorts för att hitta potentiella marknadsluckor. Teorin är i första hand hämtad från kurslitteratur där främst metoder som författarna har erfarenhet inom har valts. Vidare har en konceptutveckling genomförts där skisser och enkla CAD-underlag har genererat relevanta beslutsmatriser för att enkelt se vilka koncept som är genomförbara eller inte.Arbetet har resulterat i en skyddande container som laddar enheten via sladdkoppling. Strömförsörjningen sker genom extern strömkälla som placeras i eller på ryggsäcken. Containern hängs runt halsen med hjälp av en loop där ett USB-uttag finns tillgänglig i nacken för att förenkla laddningsprocessen.Arbetet fungerar som grund för vidare arbete med produkten. För att produkten ska kunna realiseras bör Thule ta fram produktionsunderlag samt göra en analys kring IP-klassning för väderbeständigheten samt materialval. / This report processes the product development regarding a portable charging station for handheld devices. It has been done in collaboration with the R&D-department on Thule Group. The thesis aims to project an idea for a product in the Bags & Outdoor segment and will be presented through CAD and renderings.The fundamental problem behind the report is that the lack of charging possibilities when hiking in nature, which can lead to concerns that the device’s battery will discharge. This can be fatal in the event of an accident where rescue services should be invoked. It is also important that the charging station can perform as a protective casing to withstand external shocks and ingress of dust and moisture.The thesis background stems from a pilot study where a market analysis has been made to create an understanding of what the market wants form this kind of product. To find possible market segments a competitive analysis has been made. The theory has been found in course literature where methods that are known to the authors have been chosen. Furthermore, a concept development has been done where sketches and simple CAD have generated relevant decision matrices. This is to see which concepts are feasible or not.The thesis has resulted in a protective hard case that also charges the device through a wired connection. The power supply comes from an external charger or solar panel that is mounted on or inside the backpack. The hard case is suspended around the neck with a loop, where in the back, an USB-port is located to simplify charging capability.This thesis will serve as a basis for further development of the product. To realize the product, Thule must develop production documentation and make an adequate analysis regarding IP-classification and materials.

Copies of author's previously published works inserted. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 222-258). Researches the occurence and inheritance of isolated melanin pigmented wool fibres and macroscopic pigmentation in Merino sheep. The mode of inheritance of key indicators (pigmented leg fibres and pigmented birthcoat halo-hair) of isolated pigmented wool fibres is investigated and confirms an association between isolated pigmented fibres in hogget Merino fleeces and the presence and degree of types of remnant macroscopic fibre pigmentation. These associations could be exploited to improve wool quality in relation to dark fibre risk.

Historically, in Iran, ornament was an integral part of architecture and considered a valuable part of built form. However, in time the use of ornament suffered from the decline of figural articulation in architecture, and its status was diminished to mere decoration. In this process, ornament shifted from a pattern that was integrated with the structure to the role of revetment, from symbolic to commemorative, and from meaningfully designed to arbitrary. Investigating the changing modes of ornament to understand its significance and survival, this thesis looks at the decline of ornament from its role as a necessary structural component and/or an expressive element communicating the common values of a society into an arbitrary fragment celebrating the significant past. Traditional ornament was dependent not only on architecture but also on science, cosmology, culture, art, literature, as well as on society and its beliefs; therefore there was an intimate relationship between ornament and its context, and more importantly including the inhabitant or spectator who held those beliefs. However, today those close ties no longer exist and ornament is characterized variously as luxurious, decorative, and retrospective. This change is studied from various perspectives including historical forces, prehistory, traditional Persian cultural expression, the incursion of Islamic motifs and geometries, modernity and folk legend. To retrieve and reinstate the link between ornament and building as well as with the spectator, the thesis project engages the narrative content of ornament to re-establish these relationships. It tells its own story not in a literal way, but rather through the complex tale of the lovers in the famous historical poem (c.1190) by Nezami. The thesis narrates the epic romance of Farhad and Shirin within a love triangle with its superb pictorial cues for depiction. The story unfolds through a series of architectures and architectural representations and images. The theme and motifs of the poem imply transition (both spiritual and physical) that corresponds to the transformative mode of ornament par excellence. The ornamental manifestation of the depicted poem is applied in a subway station which is in itself the locus of transition in our contemporary lives. The architectural details of the design project are fragments of the selected episodes from the story.

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