Stories from Earth: Adalbert Stifter and the Poetics of Earth History

This dissertation investigates "geological" literature in the 19th century, and aims to describe a poetics of the earth sciences. Focusing on the work of Adalbert Stifter (1805-1868), whose literary experiments translate and transform scientific knowledge, the dissertation argues that the modern scientific approaches to the "history of the earth," primarily meteorology, geology, and biology, present complex and often contradictory narratives. Meteorological contingency, geological "deep time," and proto-ecological environmental thought call into question religious cosmogonies and modern anthropocentrism alike. In Stifter's stories and novels, scientific worlds without humans confront the anthropological conventions of an ordered literary tradition in surprising and productive ways, which may not resolve into a satisfying grand narrative of earth and humankind, but do point to an objective, impersonal tendency in modern literature that is often overlooked. At the same time, as a genre of writing, literary texts demonstrate a capacity for self-reflection that sheds light on the poetic structures of other forms of knowledge, both theoretical and practical. Situating Stifter within a larger discursive context that features authors such as Goethe, A. von Humboldt, C. G. Carus, Lyell, Viollet-le-Duc, Darwin and E. Haeckel, this study addresses epistemological, aesthetic and social issues that are central to 19th-century culture, from the concept of the event and the statistical collection, to the problem of time in the representation of landscape and the role of geology as a model for historical reconstructions, and finally, the problem of life, its genealogy and its milieu

Improving High-Frequency Transit Performance through Headway-Based Dispatching: Development and Implementation of a Real-Time Decision-Support System on a Multi-Branch Light Rail Line

Service reliability is a major concern for public transportation agencies. Transit services experience natural variability in operations performance, due to factors such as congestion, changes in demand, and operator behavior. This variability leads to irregular headways, resulting in longer passenger waits and decreased effective capacity as gaps in service form. Real-time control strategies allow controllers to regulate service and improve performance. This research tested the effectiveness of a headway-based dispatching strategy at a terminal on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line in Boston, a complex, four-branch light rail line. Terminal personnel were provided with tablet computers showing departure times optimized by an even-headway policy. When optimized departure times were adhered to, peak period headway variability was reduced by 40%. The average wait was shortened by 15% (30 sec), and the 90th percentile wait was shortened by 21% (90 sec). The results show that adopting headway-based dispatching at terminals of high-frequency lines promises significant benefits to service and passengers if operational changes are accompanied by improved supervision

Decision Factors in Service Control on High-Frequency Metro Line, Importance in Service Delivery

Service control—the task of implementing the timetable in daily operations on a metro line—plays a key role in service delivery, because it influences the quality of the service provided to passengers. Shortfalls of previous research on the role and importance of service control have been noted. A framework intended to remedy some of these shortfalls is proposed. An important element of this framework is the description of the full decision environment in which service control takes place. On the basis of insights gained from extended visits to a control center, the reliability of the system is found to depend on many endogenous factors. These factors were not previously recognized in a comprehensive manner by either researchers or practitioners. Aside from the objectives of maintaining adequate levels of service from an operations perspective and minimizing the impact of schedule deviations on passengers, the management of crew and rolling stock, safety, and infrastructure capacity are major considerations in service control decisions. Given the uncertain environment in which service control operates, a strong preference was observed among controllers for manageable and robust control strategies. An example is discussed in which service controllers react to two similar disruptions with different recovery strategies, mainly because of crew management considerations. This research demonstrates the importance of a comprehensive understanding of the objectives and constraints faced by service controllers in daily operations