Thesis (Ph.D.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 198-207). Also available in electronic version.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 98-99). Also available online via the University of Texas Libraries website (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/).

Transit agencies have the opportunity to improve the delivery of services by using data from Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). On-time performance is an important measure. The objective of this paper is to adjust the timetables so that the probability of on-time performance is maximized. For this purpose we analyze data distributions of travel time and also consider the general case that data distribution is unknown. Statistical procedures are presented to find scheduled time for some selected distributions. Monte Carlo simulation is introduced for the purpose of finding scheduled time when data distribution is not known. Simulation studies indicate that the on-time performance would increase using the proposed methodology. The contribution of this paper is to provide transit system a procedure to set up or update their timetables based on current ITS data and its distribution, and hence increase level of service.

0 / SPK / specialcollections@tulane.edu

Increasing urban populations are currently magnifying the importance of the transit station in the context of its surrounding systems. In order to prepare our cities for higher population densities in the future, an examination of the relationships between station form and individual experience may lead to the identification of specific design objectives with implications for increased public transit riderships. Data is collected through research on sensory perception in architecture, spatial organization, and connectivity between an individual structure and it’s local surroundings. Site-specific observations and information describing current professional practices are used to determine prominent design objectives for future implementation.

No description available.

No description available.

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

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Master / Master of Urban Design

The field of exoplanets have been rapidly growing, confirming over three thousand planets of which most have been discovered with the Transit method. Now focus lies on the characterization of exoplanets atmospheres. The searches are concentrated on finding planets that are Earth-like and in the habitable zone in order to detect biosignatures, the sign of life. This project examines Earth as an exoplanet. The goal of the project is to answer if it is possible to see Earth's atmosphere when transiting the Sun as seen from Jupiter. In January 5 2014 Jupiter was observed during the Earth-transit on the Sun as seen from Jupiter. Spectra were taken with the infrared spectrograph CRIRES, located at Cerro Paranal in Chile, during the last part and after the transit. The spectra were reduced and a combined 2d spectra were obtained. A detailed analysis process was performed and the spectra during transit was divided by the spectra after transit, giving a residual signal. The residual signal was compared to the telluric spectrum in order to determine if they correlated. A correlation of the lines might indicate that Earth’s atmosphere is detected in the dataset. The residual signal correlates with the telluric absorption lines, but the conclusion is that the signal is probably due to incomplete removal of telluric lines. / Exoplaneter har varit ett snabbt växande område, nu med över tretusen bekräftade planeter. Flest exoplaneter har blivit upptäckta med Transitmetoden och sedan upptäckten av en exoplanets atmosfär gjordes ligger mycket fokus på karaktärisering av dessa atmosfärer. Sökandet efter en planet som liknar Jorden pågår och att detektera ämnen i atmosfären som är kopplade till liv är ett av de största målen. I detta projekt undersöks Jorden som en exoplanet. Målet är att besvara frågan om det är möjligt att se Jorden göra en transit framför solen från Jupiter sett. Den 5 januari 2014 observerades Jupiter då Jorden gjorde en transit. Spektra togs med den infraröda spektrografen CRIRES, belägen i Cerro Paranal i Chile, under den sista delen av transiten och timmarna efter. Alla spektra reducerades och ett kombinerat 2d spektra erhölls. Dessa spektra genomgick en detaljerad analysprocess och spektra taget under transiten divideras med spektra taget efter transiten och en signal erhölls. Signalen jämfördes med de telluriska absorptionslinjerna för att hitta en korrelation, vilket skulle kunna betyda att signalen från Jordens atmosfär under transiten är synlig. Signalen och de telluriska linjerna korrelerade, men slutsatsen var att denna signal förmodligen är en kvarvarande signal från de ofullständigt avlägsnade telluriska linjerna.