Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Methodology resources'

This thesis uses Critical Systems Thinking (CST) as a basic philosophy to explore how to create a critical process for evaluating methodology. CST is different from the other two mainstreams of systems thinking (Hard Systems Thinking and Soft Systems Thinking) in terms of its emphasis on methodological pluralism, critical awareness and emancipation. The study begins with an explanation of a widely used critical systems methodology, Total Systems Intervention (TSI). TSI offers a means for evaluating other methodologies, and the original aim of the thesis was to further develop this. However, the way the research progressed resulted in a break with the basic structure of TSI. Consequently, a new methodology was produced, which can either be used independently or within TSI. This is called Participative Methodology Evaluation (PME). PME is founded on the idea that a person's understanding of a methodology is influenced by his/her social ideology. Thus, the basic concern of the evaluation of methodology needs to be how methodology-users and organisational/environmental stakeholders can examine their ideological differences through processes of critique in order to make more informed choices. In particular, three perspectives (and subperspectives) need to be explored: the ideology implicit in the methodology being evaluated; the ideological assumptions of the methodology-user (consultant, researcher or manager); and the various ideological assumptions made by organisational and environmental stakeholders. PME embraces three stages: Surfacing, Triangulation and Recommendation. Surfacing aims to expose and explore the various assumptions about, and views on, the candidate ii methodology and the organisational situation. Triangulation compares and contrasts the various perspectives, and if possible an accommodation of views is sought. Recommendation provides practical suggestions to stakeholders as to the likely effects of using the methodology being evaluated, and where appropriate highlights possible modifications and/or alternatives. Finally, a practical case study is given of PME in action. PME was used to evaluate the advisability (or otherwise) of using the Viable System Model (VSM) to restructure Tainan City Council (in Taiwan). Reflections on the case study indicate that significant insights into the likely effects of using the VSM were generated through the PME process, resulting in a fundamental rethink about how the VSM should be applied. Early indications therefore suggest that PME could be a useful tool for organisations seeking to evaluate the likely effects of a methodology prior to application.

Research purpose: As a by-product in the development of the Quality Management Systems, self-organized� working groups were introduced and became a common practice in management. In the last ten years some authors – influenced by the developments in the study of Complex Systems – have reintroduced the� self-organization concept as being the future of management. In this approach, the description of the mechanism driving this process has been explored to provide a method to facilitate the emergence of viable organisational structures and to support such organizational behaviour. This topic becomes more relevant in the present times when the community development is more locally oriented and the communities are being empowered to become more autonomous in the definition of the means and results they want to improve their quality of live. It is within this context that in order to facilitate self-organization processes – in a rural community engaged in a independent regeneration program –this research suggest the use of a model inspired in both� cybernetics and the self-organization in a biological system. Methods: This thesis details the development of a three loops framework aimed to facilitate the self-organizing� behaviour through the use of a Visualization - Planning - Reflective toolset (V-P Toolset). The framework was deployed within a case study organization (The XOOP) using an interpretivist philosophy of constructionism to� guide the research. During its execution the researcher acted as both an observer and participant of the� organisational change. Within the context of an action research project, the framework followed a� multimethodology design where cybernetic and social tools of organizational analysis such as the Viable� System Model (VSM), Narrative and Story-telling analysis and Social Network Analysis (SNA) provided a unique approach to the facilitation of self-organization and the mergence of viable organizational structures.�Results: The VSM and the SNA were used to diagnose the organizational structure. The information provided by these tools was then contextualized within the Narrative and Story-telling analysis, identifying critical events in the evolution of the organization. This combination of tools provided insights about the self-organizing behaviour of the organization and the mechanism that facilitated (or impeded) the emergence of viable organizational structures throughout the evolution of the observed community.Conclusions: The introduction of a common language to describe the organization facilitated the endogenous creation of a shared mental model of the community. This representation of the organization made more efficient the exchange of information, the coordination of activities and the autonomous operation of the different working groups. Thus, the iterative loops of the V-P contributed to made this process more efficient and provided evidence about the convenience of the integration of the VSM with the SNA as organizational diagnostic tools.

From the Proceedings of the 1990 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Association and the Hydrology Section - Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science - April 21, 1990, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona

Biological samples recovered at crime scenes may contain unsuspected and valuable evidence, such as illicit drugs, in addition to nucleic acids. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis provides valuable information to identify a suspect or victim, as well as to exclude an innocent individual as the perpetrator of a crime. Identification of drugs can also be very informative for forensic investigation to determine whether a perpetrator committed a crime under the influence of illicit substances. In the field of forensic analysis, sample preparation for identifying both DNA and drugs of abuse represents a challenge due to limited sample quantity and only trace levels of target analytes present in the matrices. As a result, an analytical approach has been developed to enable the combined extraction of DNA and four amphetamines (amphetamine [AM], methamphetamine [MA], 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine [MDA], and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine hydrochloride [MDMA]) from a small amount of sample (50 μl) using a single extraction procedure. This study has focused on solid-phase extraction (SPE) using inorganic silica-based matrices as sorbents to facilitate such sample processing. The advantages of using inorganic silica-based monoliths are due to the simple fixation of the material in a column or within a microfluidic device, their mechanical stability with organic solvents, the availability of simple surface modifications to enable the desired chemical interaction with the target molecules, and a unique bimodal structure that allows a large surface area with minimum back pressure. A dual-phase SPE method was developed consisting of silica beads modified with octadecyl groups packed inside a luer lock adapter for amphetamine extraction coupled in series with a silica-based monolith for DNA extraction within a microfluidic system for a fully combined genetic and drug extraction system. The proposed method was effective for the extraction of the target drugs from a spiked buffer and artificial urine giving an average recovery greater than 70% and 50%, respectively, with high reproducibility (˂ 15% RSD). The limits of detection were 0.6 μg ml⁻¹ for AM and MA, 0.7 μg ml⁻¹ for MDA, and 0.8 μg ml⁻¹ for MDMA with linear calibration curves between 0.625 and 20 μg ml⁻¹. The method was also able to extract DNA from the spiked TE buffer and urine sample with average extraction efficiencies of 36% and 30%, respectively, which were successfully amplified via the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The proposed method is not only suitable for the combined extraction of DNA and amphetamines from a limited sample size, but also reduces sample handling and potential contamination. This method could, in future, be applied to anti-doping analysis for the detection of doping agents and conducting DNA profiling as evidence to ascertain whether samples belong to the right athletes.

The Dubai Police, striving to meet the needs of one of the most rapidly developing communities in the world, found themselves struggling to satisfy the needs of an expanding and increasingly diverse population as well as dealing with the expectations within the force from high-qualified officers who had benefited from education in the most modern universities. Seeking to improve the service to all stakeholders, HE the Commander-in-Chief introduced the concept of Total Quality Management. The introduction and continuing application of Total Quality Management was undertaken by an over-arching general department dedicated to Total Quality together with the introduction of experts into every general department. Unfortunately, the benefits were not as universal or as consistent as had been hoped. It was thought blocks to progress arose from the rigidity of the hierarchical and militaristic style of leadership prevalent in the force. A leadership style more inclusive of officers at all level was needed, one which was also alive to the expectations of external stakeholders, the residents, visitors and executives of business interests in Dubai. The researcher was asked to study how leadership operated in the Dubai Police, how leaders viewed progress in Total Quality Management among their peers and subordinates and how subordinates assessed their immediate superiors’ performance as leaders. To this end, 31 semi-structured interviews provided data for qualitative analysis and 475 respondents completed a questionnaire for quantitative analysis. The interviews revealed great respect for the military traditions of the Dubai Police, pride in progress made in Total Quality Management to date, an acknowledgement that this had been uneven and of the existence of pockets of resistance, results borne out of the responses to the questionnaire. Subjects were keen to improve the situation but had not embraced the latest management techniques available, tending to use reductionist methods to solve problems. The researcher was requested to explore the benefits of holistic systems thinking to liberate consideration of problems and blocks to further progress in Total Quality Management. The Dubai Police were advised that systems thinking has advantages over older methods as it involves consideration of all aspects of a problem as a whole, including the interest of all stakeholders, leading to more satisfactory solutions of wider application. Among its advantages are the broader spectrum of investigation called for the greater involvement of subordinates so that a much more detailed (richer) picture can be obtained. The Dubai Police were therefore recommended to employ Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) as a means to achieving flexibility in leadership, deeper involvement of lower tiers of management in planning and quicker reaction to changing crime patterns. The Dubai Police should study western policing methods more deeply and invoke local universities in further research. The research indicated the Dubai Police needed to be more attuned to global development in policing attitudes and techniques.

COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIOR
A avaliação de recursos petrolíferos não descobertos, isto é feita a partir de informações obtidas de testes indiretos como a sismografia, é a base para as decisões sobre a perfuração de poços de exploração. As informações disponíveis nessa fase que antecede a perfuração de poços são vagas e plenas de incertezas. Por outro lado, a avaliação econômica cuidadosa dos prospectos nessa fase é fundamental para as decisões relativas às fases seguintes, principalmente, devido ao elevado custo da perfuração de poços que nelas ocorrem. Por isso, a aplicação de métodos estatísticos que reduzam as incertezas na avaliação de recursos não descobertos é de grande importância para a rentabilidade das empresas de petróleo. O cálculo do volume recuperável de hidrocarbonetos (base para a avaliação econômica) depende avaliações feitas por especialistas e para considerar as incertezas inerentes aos dados as avaliações devem ser representadas probabilisticamente. O objetivo desta dissertação é rever as metodologias e técnicas formais para avaliação probabilística de recursos não descobertos encontradas na literatura, tendo sempre em mente os aspectos práticos de implementação. A descrição destas metodologias inclui a estrutura e a organização necessárias para gerenciar o trabalho dos especialistas, a eliciação de distribuições de probabilidades subjetivas e a combinação destas distribuições, além de técnicas para verificação de consistência das avaliações e redução de vieses. São feitas considerações sobre as principais distribuições de probabilidade usadas para representar incertezas inerentes à avaliação de fatores geológicos. Cada uma das metodologias e técnicas é exemplificada e discutida. Uma planilha eletrônica foi constituída com objeto de ilustrar os métodos apresentados e servir como protótipo de instrumento de apoio a avaliação probabilística de fatores geológicos.
The evaluation of not discovered oil and gas resources, that uses solely information obtained from indirect tests such as seismography, is the base for the decisions on the drilling exploration wells. The information available in this phase that precedes the drilling of wells is vague and very uncertain. On the other hand, the careful economic evaluation of the prospects in this phase is very important for the decisions concerning the following phases, mainly on because of the high cost of the drilling of wells that occur. Therefore, the application of statistical methods for reducing the uncertainties and biases in the evaluation of undiscovered resources is quite important for the oil companies. The calculation of the recoverable volume of hydro-carbons (the basis for economic evaluation) depends on assessments made by experts, and for representing the uncertainties; the data must be probabilistically distributed. The objective of this thesis is to review the formal methodologies and techniques for probabilistic evaluation of undiscovered resources founded in literature, having always in mind the practical aspects of implementation. The description of these methodologies range from the definition of the structure and organization necessary to manage the work of the experts, the elicitation of distributions of subjective probabilities and the combination of these distributions, until techniques for verification of evaluations consistency and reduction of biases. Some considerations are made about the main distributions of probability used for representing the uncertainties in evaluations of geologic factors. Each methodology and technique is illustrated and discussed. An electronic spread sheet was developed to illustrate the presented methods and as a prototype of computer aid for the probabilistic evaluation of geologic factors.

This thesis considers a common healthcare challenge of planning capacity for a system of care where patients receive multiple treatments sessions from multiple resources. As a case study of this more general problem, we considered the particular context of a capacity planning model for the Mood and Anxiety Program at The Ottawa Royal Health Centre (referenced as The Royal for simplicity) where a new service system known as CAPA (www.capa.co.uk) is being implemented to enhance the mental care provided to its patients. In order to develop the capacity planning model, we have created a simulation model using the Arena simulation software. We have also used the ABCMod Framework as the modeling methodology. The ABCMod is an activity based conceptual modelling framework that provides a set of guidelines as to how to build a conceptual model including its structural and behavioural aspects as well as a collection of constructs which include inputs, outputs and parameters among others. The ABCMod framework tools are expected to facilitate the model validation with project stakeholders. A series of scenarios relevant to The Royal were modeled and analyzed in order to determine how best to manage capacity so certain performance goals within the CAPA system implementation are met. These scenarios determine the service level The Royal can provide with its current capacity and also the amount and distribution of resources that is required to achieve its goals under the CAPA system. As a result of our simulation runs, we defined the policy implications for The Royal in order to achieve its targets and successfully implement CAPA. Additionally, through the application of the ABCMod framework and standard process mapping tools, we were able to reach a consensus and validate our modeling approach with the project stakeholders at The Royal. Our model could be adapted to other settings in which multiple resources provide a series of sequential interventions to clients.

Problémy s vodou, zejména její nedostatek a znečištění, ovlivňují každodenní lidský život a hospodářský vývoj. Globální změny klimatu zvyšují pravděpodobnost a četnost extrémních událostí jako jsou sucho a záplavy. Rostoucí problémy s nepravidelnou dostupností a znečištěním vody vyžadují pokročilejší metodiky hodnocení vodních zdrojů, které povedou k efektivnímu využití a hospodaření s vodou. Tato práce se zabývá rozšířenými metodikami pro hodnocení vody z pohledu její kvality a kvantity a pro hodnocení spotřeby energie a produkce emisí souvisejících s vodou. Tři hlavní metodiky jsou navrženy na základě konceptu vodní stopy (Water Footprint) a pinch analýzy vody (Water Pinch Analysis) pro posouzení kvantitativních a kvalitativních hledisek využití a spotřeby vody. Použití těchto metod je rovněž demonstrováno pomocí numerických a empirických případových studií zaměřených na hodnocení a optimalizaci využití regionálních a průmyslových vodních zdrojůDále jsou diskutovány souvislosti mezi vodou a energií (Water-Energy Nexus) za účelem analýzy problémů týkající se vody z širší perspektivy. Z pohledu vody a vodních zdrojů je provedeno počáteční zhodnocení energetické náročnosti a produkce emisí skleníkových plynů v problematice odsolování mořské vody. Výsledky prezentované v této práci navazují na současné metodiky hodnocení vodních zdrojů. Stopa dostupnosti vody (Water Availability Footprint) byla navržena pro zohlednění dopadu degradace kvality vody ve stávajících postupech pro posuzování nedostatku vody, ve kterých nebyla dříve řešena. Druhým přínosem této práce je návrh konceptu kvantitativní-kvalitativní vodní stopy (Quantitative-Qualitative Water Footprint - QQWFP), ve kterém je definována vodní stopa z pohledu nákladů a následně je stanovena v souvislosti s celkovými náklady na spotřebu vody a odstraňování kontaminantů, které se do vody dostávají v průběhu jejího využití. Vodní stopa založená na nákladech poskytuje výsledky, které jsou intuitivnější jak pro management vodních zdrojů tak i pro veřejnost. Tento přístup umožňuje lépe kontrolovat a řídit průmyslové a regionální využívání a správu vody. Třetím přínosem této práce je rozšíření pinch analýzy nedostatku vody (Water Scarcity Pinch Analysis - WSPA), ve které je aplikována pinch analýzy vody na makroúrovni se zaměřením na regionální hodnocení a optimalizaci zdrojů a využívání vody. Všechny tři navržené metody jsou zaměřeny na stanovení dopadů využití vody z hlediska jejího množství a kvality, analýzy QQWFP a WSPA také pokrývají dopady vícečetných kontaminantů. Kromě hledání řešení se tato práce také pokouší naznačit potenciální směry pro budoucí výzkum v dané oblasti. Mezi významná potenciální témata k diskuzi patří 1) pokročilejší metoda kvantifikace vlivu více kontaminantů a 2) implementace a analýza ekonomické proveditelnosti přístupů WSPA a QQWFP s lokalizovanými daty s cílem nalézt přizpůsobené řešení pro optimální využití regionální a průmyslové vody.

Un sistema de gestión de sequías apropiado requiere de la anticipación de los posibles efectos que un episodio de este tipo tenga sobre el sistema de recursos hídricos. Esta tarea sin embargo resulta más complicada de lo que parece. En primer lugar, debido al alto grado de incertidumbre existente en la predicción de variables hidrológicas futuras. Y en segundo, debido al riesgo de sobrerreacción en la activación de medidas de mitigación generando falsa sensación de escasez, o sequía artificial. A este respecto, los planes especiales de sequía proveen de herramientas para la gestión eficiente de situaciones con escasez de recursos y la preparación de cara a futuros eventos. De todos modos, las diferentes estrategias de operación seguidas en cada sistema de recursos hídricos hacen que las herramientas que en algunos casos resultaron altamente útiles no lo sean tanto cuando se aplican en sistemas distintos. Debido a la falta de tiempo y/o al exceso de confianza en los trabajos realizados por terceros, con excelentes resultados en sus respectivos casos, a veces se cae en el error de implementar metodologías no del todo apropiadas en sistemas con requisitos completamente distintos. El desarrollo y utilización de metodologías generalizadas aplicables a diferentes sistemas y capaces de proporcionar resultados adaptados a cada caso es, por tanto, muy deseable. Este es el caso de las herramientas de modelación de sistemas de recursos hídricos generalizadas. Estas permiten homogeneizar los procesos mientras siguen siendo los suficientemente adaptables para proporcionar resultados apropiados para cada caso de estudio. Esta tesis presenta una serie de herramientas destinadas a avanzar en el análisis y comprensión de los sistemas de recursos hídricos, haciendo énfasis en la prevención de sequías y la gestión de riesgos. Las herramientas desarrolladas incluyen: un modelo de optimización generalizado para esquemas de recursos hídricos, con capacidad para la representación detallada de cualquier sistema de recursos hídricos, y una metodología de análisis de riesgo basada en la optimización de Monte Carlo con múltiples series sintéticas. Con estas herramientas es posible incluir tanto la componente superficial como la subterránea del sistema estudiado dentro del proceso de optimización. La optimización está basada en la resolución iterativa de redes de flujo. Se probó la consistencia y eficiencia de diferentes algoritmos de resolución para encontrar un balance entre la velocidad de cálculo, el número de iteraciones, y la consistencia de los resultados, aportando recomendaciones para el uso de cada algoritmo dadas las diferencias entre los mismos. Las herramientas desarrolladas se aplican en dos casos de estudio reales en la evaluación y posibilidad de complementación de los sistemas de monitorización y alerta temprana de sequías existentes en los mismos. En el primer caso, se propone un enfoque alternativo para la monitorización de la sequía en el sistema de operación anual del río Órbigo (España), complementándolo con la utilización de la metodología de análisis de riesgo. En el segundo caso, las herramientas se emplean en un sistema con una estrategia de operación completamente distinta. Se estudia como el análisis de riesgo de la gestión óptima puede ayudar a la activación anticipada de los escenarios de sequía en los sistemas de los ríos Júcar y Turia, cuya operación es hiperanual. En esta ocasión, el sistema de indicadores existente goza de una gran confianza por parte de los usuarios. La metodología de análisis de riesgo es, sin embargo, capaz de anticipar los eventos de sequía con mayor alarma, aspecto que es deseable si se quiere evitar que los episodios en desarrollo vayan a más. En ambos casos se muestra como la evaluación anticipada de las posibles situaciones futuras del sistema permiten una definición confiable de los escenarios de sequía con suficiente antelación para la activación efectiva de medidas de prevención y/o mitigación en caso de ser necesarias. La utilización de indicadores provenientes de modelos frente a indicadores basados en datos observados es complementaria y ambos deberían utilizarse de forma conjunta para mejorar la gestión preventiva de los sistemas de recursos hídricos. El empleo de modelos de optimización en situaciones de incertidumbre hidrológica es muy apropiado gracias a la no necesidad de definir reglas de gestión para obtener los mejores resultados del sistema, y teniendo en cuenta que las reglas de operación habituales pueden no ser completamente adecuadas en estas ocasiones.
Haro Monteagudo, D. (2014). Methodology for the optimal management design of water resources system under hydrologic uncertainty [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/45996
TESIS

In the twentieth century, systems thinking developed in the West from a recognition that a new way of thinking was needed to deal with complexity. In the East, Buddhism offers a powerful perspective to observe the world and its problems, and has been successfully helping people in their daily lives for nearly two thousand five hundred years. This research develops and tests a new perspective for problem solving and problem prevention by integrating selected ideas from Buddhist thinking and systems thinking. The purpose is to generate a methodology of specific relevance to Buddhist organizations in Taiwan. Similarities and differences between aspects of Buddhist thinking and systems thinking are examined to reveal potential synergies. However, difficulties in integrating various Buddhist and systems perspectives are also identified. The chosen solution is to establish synergies via the "systemic intervention" perspective that provides a rationale for allowing theoretical and methodological pluralism in the development of locally relevant approaches to intervention. Therefore a Buddhist Systems Methodology (BSM) is proposed which combines systemic intervention with Buddhist concepts and which appears to offer a new systemic perspective for problem solving and problem prevention in organizations in Taiwan. The BSM methodology is field tested by carrying out an intervention in Buddha's Light International Association, Republic of China (BLIA, R. O. C. ). The intervention identifies and tackles an issue of major concern to the organization. An evaluation of the BSM intervention by stakeholders, carried out six months after implementation, reveals significant progress towards resolution of the issue and wide acceptance of the usefulness of the BSM.

It is likely that in the near future, energy engineering will be required to help society adapt to permanently constrained fuel supplies, constrained green house gas emissions, and electricity supply systems running with minimal capacity margins. The goal of this research is to develop an analytical approach for adaptive energy systems engineering within the context of resource and environmental constraints. This involves assessing available energy resources, environmental and social issues, and economic activities. The approach is applied to a relatively simple case study on Rotuma, an isolated Pacific Island society. The case study is based on new data from field work. A spectrum of development options is identified for Rotuma and a reference energy demand is calculated for each representative level. A spectrum of conceptual reference energy system models is generated for each energy service level with a range of renewable energy penetration. The outcome is a matrix of energy system investment and resource utilization for the range of energy service levels. These models are then used for comparative risk assessment. The result is an easily understood visual based investment and risk assessment for both development and adaptation to constrained resource availability. The results show a clear development opportunity space for Rotuma where needs and services are in balance with investment, local resource availability and environmental constraints.

Since the 1970s, various private and governmental agencies have conducted studies to assess potential unconventional gas resources, particularly those resources contained in tight sands, fractured shales, and coal beds. The US Geological Survey (USGS) has assessed the amount of unconventional gas resources in North America, and its estimates are used by other government agencies as the basis for their resource estimates. While the USGS employs a probabilistic methodology, it is apparent from the resulting narrow ranges that the methodology underestimates the uncertainty of these undiscovered, untested, potential resources, which in turn limits the reliability and usefulness of the assessments. The objective of this research is to develop an improved methodology to assess potential unconventional gas resources that better accounts for the uncertainty in these resources. This study investigates the causes of the narrow ranges generated by the USGS analyticprobabilistic methodology used to prepare the 1995 national oil and gas assessment and the 2000 NOGA series, and presents an improved methodology to assess potential unconventional gas resources. The new model improves upon the USGS method by using a stochastic approach, which includes correlation between the input variables and Monte Carlo simulation, representing a more versatile and robust methodology than the USGS analytic-probabilistic methodology. The improved methodology is applied to the assessment of potential unconventional gas resources in the Uinta-Piceance province of Utah and Colorado, and compared to results of the evaluation performed by the USGS in 2002. Comparison of the results validates the means and standard deviations produced by the USGS methodology, but shows that the probability distributions generated are rather different and, that the USGS distributions are not skewed to right, as expected for a natural resource. This study indicates that the unrealistic shape and width of the resulting USGS probability distributions are not caused by the analytic equations or lack of correlation between input parameters, but rather the use of narrow triangular probability distributions as input variables. Adoption of the improved methodology, along with a careful examination and revision of input probability distributions, will allow a more realistic assessment of the uncertainty surrounding potential unconventional gas resources.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2011.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 125-131).
Plug-in electric vehicles and distributed generation are expected to appear in growing numbers over the next few decades. Large scale unregulated penetration of plug-in electric vehicles and distributed generation can each have detrimental impact on the existing electric grid infrastructure. However, appropriate pairing of the two technologies along with some storage could mitigate their individual negative impacts. This thesis develops a methodology and an optimization tool for the design of grid connected electric vehicle chargers that integrate distributed generation and storage into a single system. The optimization tool is based on a linear programming approach that identifies designs with the minimum system lifecycle cost. The thesis also develops the component and system cost models needed for this optimization. The tool can handle single and multiple charger systems with centralized or distributed generation and storage. To verify the tool's accuracy, a search-based optimization technique that works for single chargers with centralized generation and storage is also developed and used to validate the tool. To demonstrate the usefulness of the optimization tool, it is used to design optimal architectures for a single-charger residential charging case and a multi-charger public charging case. It is shown that designs that draw the maximum available power from the grid have the lowest 20-year system lifecycle cost. When storage is needed because the grid cannot provide full charging power, optimal designs may or may not include solar PV based distributed generation depending on the location. For example, in locations with solar irradiation profiles like Los Angeles, CA, electric vehicle charger designs that include solar PV generation are optimal, while in locations like Eugene, OR, optimal designs do not include solar PV. It is also shown that with the available technology, wind turbines are not cost effective for use in residential chargers in locations with wind speeds similar to Los Angeles, CA and Boulder, CO. For the multicharger public charging case, designs with centralized storage and generation are optimal.
by Samantha Joellyn Gunter.
S.M.

In light of research that suggests that formal needs analysis leads to efficient and productive training programs, managers and a sampling of non-management employees from a mid-size manufacturing company participated in a needs assessment to determine future training needs for the company's mangers. The information was collected through focus group interviews and a Q-sort technique was developed to categorize the issues raised in the interviews. The categories of training issues and related concerns identified as a result of the focus group interview process were compared to a list of training topics generated by managers through an informal survey prior to the needs assessment. The comparison indicated that the training issues generated by managers in the informal survey were not congruent with the issues identified as a result of the needs assessment process. Comparisons were made between the major issues addressed by various departments, management levels, and functional groups. These comparisons indicated that some concerns were identified by all departments, management levels, and functional areas and could be defined as organizational concerns while other concerns were identified by specific departments, management levels, or functional areas.

The use of electronic services results in the generation of vast amounts of Online Resource Usage (ORU) data. ORU data typically consists of user login, printing and executed process information. The structure of this type of data restricts the ability of decision makers to effectively and efficiently analyse ORU data. A data warehouse (DW) structure is required which satisfies an organisation’s information requirements. In order to design a DW structure a methodology is needed to provide a design template according to acknowledged practices. The aim of this research was to primarily propose a methodology specifically for the design of a DW structure to support the efficient and effective analysis of ORU data. A variety of relevant DW structure design methodologies were investigated and a number of limitations were identified. These methodologies do not provide methodological support for metadata documentation, physical design and implementation. The most comprehensive methodology identified in the investigation was modified and the Adapted Triple-Driven DW Structure Design Methodology (ATDM) was proposed. The ATDM was successfully applied to the information and communication technology services (ICTS) department of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University as the case study for this research. The proposed ATDM consists of different phases which include a requirements analysis phase that was adapted from the identified comprehensive methodology. A physical design and an implementation phase were included in the ATDM. The ATDM was successfully applied to the ICTS case study as a proof of concept. The application of the ATDM to ICTS resulted in the generation and documentation of semantic and technical metadata which describes the DW structure derived from the application of the ATDM at a logical and physical level respectively. The implementation phase was applied using the Microsoft SQL Server integrated tool to obtain an implemented DW structure for ICTS that is described by technical metadata at an implementation level. This research has shown that the ATDM can be successfully applied to obtain an effective and efficient DW structure for analysing ORU data. The ATDM provides guidelines to develop a DW structure for ORU data and future research includes the generalisation of the ATDM to accommodate various domains and different data types.

Organizations no longer draft their own standards. Instead, organizations take advantage of the available international standards. One standard may not cover all the organization's needs, requiring organizations to implement more than one standard. The same aspect in an organization may be covered by two or more standards, creating an overlap. An awareness of such overlaps led to various institutions creating mapping documents illustrating how a control from one standard relates to a control from a different standard. The mapping documents are consulted by the end user, to identify how a control in one standard may relate to other standards. This allows the end user to navigate between the standards documents. These mapping documents are valuable to a person who wishes to grasp how different standards deal with a specific control. However, the navigation between standards is a cumbersome task. In order to navigate between the standards the end user is required to consult three or more documents, depending on the number of standards that are mapped to the control being investigated. The need for a tool that will provide fast and efficient navigation between standards was identified. The data tier of the tool is the focus of this dissertation. As a result, this research proposes a modeling methodology that will allow for the modeling of the standards and the information about the mapping between standards, thereby contributing to the creation of tools to aid in the navigation between standards. A comparison between the major data modeling paradigms identifies multi-dimensional modeling as the most appropriate technique to model standards. Adapting an existing modeling methodology to cater for the modeling standards, yield a five step standard modeling methodology. Once modeled, the standards can be physically implemented as a database. The database schema that results from the standard modeling methodology adheres to a specific pattern and can thus be expressed according to well-defined meta-model. This allows for the generation of SQL statements by a tool with limited knowledge of the standards in a way that allows the quick navigation between standards. To determine the usefulness of the standards modeling methodology the research presents iv a prototype that utilizes the well-defined meta-model to navigate between standards. It is shown that, as far as navigation is concerned, no code changes are necessary when adding a new standard or new mappings between standards. This research contributes to the creation of a tool that can easily navigate between standards by providing the ability to model the data tier in such a way that it is extensible, yet remains independent of the application and presentation tiers.

The huge natural energy resources available in the world’s oceans are attracting increasing commercial and political interest. In order to evaluate the status and the degree of acceptability of future Ocean Energy (OE) schemes, it was considered important to develop an Integrated Assessment Methodology (IAM) for ascertaining the relative merits of the competing OE devices being proposed. Initial studies included the gathering of information on the present status of development of the ocean energy systems on wave, OTEC and tidal schemes with the challenges faced for their commercial application. In order to develop the IAM, studies were undertaken for the development and standardization of the assessment tools focussing on: • Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) on emission characteristics. • Energy Accounting (EA) studies. • Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) over different environmental issues. • Resource captures aspects. • Defining economy evaluation indices. The IAM developed from such studies comprised of four interrelated well defined tasks and six assessment tools. The tasks included the identification of the modus operandi on data collection to be followed (from industry) for assessing respective OE devices, and also advancing relevant guidelines as to the safety standards to be followed, for their deployment at suitable sites. The IAM as developed and validated from case studies in ascertaining relative merits of competing OE devices included: suitable site selection aspects with scope for resource utilisation capability, safety factors for survivability, scope for addressing global warming & energy accounting, the environmental impact assessment both qualitatively and quantitatively on different environmental issues, and the economic benefits achievable. Some of the new ideas and concepts which were also discovered during the development of the IAM, and considered useful to both industry and researchers are given below: • Relative Product Cost (RPC) ratio concept- introduced in making an economic evaluation. This is considered helpful in sensitivity analysis and making design improvements (hybridising etc) for the cost reduction of OE devices. This index thus helps in making feasibility studies on R&D efforts, where the capital cost requirement data and life span of the device is not well defined in the primary stages of development. • Determination of the threshold limit value of the barrage constant - considered useful in determining the efficacy of the planning process. The concept ascertained the relative efficiency achieved for various barrage proposals globally. It could also be applied to suggest the revisions required for certain barrage proposals and also found useful in predicting the basin area of undefined barrage proposal for achieving economic viability. • Estimations made on the future possibility of revenue earnings from the by-products of various OTEC types, including the scope of chemical hubs from grazing type OTEC plants. • Determination of breakeven point- on cost versus life span of wave and OTEC devices studied, which is useful in designing optimum life of the concerned devices. The above stated multi-criterion assessment methodology, IAM, was extended leading to the development of a single criterion model for ascertaining sustainability percent achievable from an OE device and termed IAMs. The IAMs was developed identifying 7 Sustainability Development Indices (SDI) using some the tools of the IAM. A sustainability scale of 0-100 was also developed, attributing a Sustainability Development Load Score (SDLS) percentage distribution pattern over each SDIs, depending on their relative importance in achieving sustainability. The total sum of sustainability development (SD) gained from each SDI gave the IAMs (for the concerned device), indicating the total sustainable percentage achieved. The above IAMs developed, could be applied in ranking OE devices alongside the unsustainable coal power station. A mathematical model of estimating the IAMs was formulated, in order to ascertain the viability to the sustainable development of any energy device. The instruments of IAM and IAMs which have been developed would be helpful to the OE industry in ascertaining the degree of acceptability of their product. In addition it would also provide guidelines for their safe deployment by assessing the relative merits of competing devices. Furthermore, IAM and IAMs would be helpful to researchers undertaking feasibility studies on R&D efforts for material development research, ‘hybridization studies’ (as also new innovations), cost reduction, the performance improvement of respective devices, and any economic gains. With future advancements in OE systems and the availability of field data from large scale commercial applications, the specific values/data of the IAM & IAMs may be refined, but the logic of the models developed in this research would remain the same.

The primary objective of the research is to develop a methodology for monitoring and measuring IT risks, strictly focusing on internal controls. The research delivers a methodology whereby an organization can measure its system of internal controls, providing assurance that the risks are at an acceptable level. To achieve the primary objective a number of secondary objectives were addressed: What are the drivers forcing organizations to better corporate governance in managing risk? What is IT risk management, specifically focusing on operational risk. What is internal control and specifically focusing on COSO’s internal control process. Investigation of measurement methods, such as, Balance Scorecards, Critical Success Factors, Maturity Models, Key Performance Indicators and Key Goal Indicators. Investigation of various frameworks such as CobiT, COSO and ISO 17799, ITIL and BS 7799 as to how they manage IT risk relating to internal control.

ABSTRACT " Once it was said that the law followed the flag. Now, international law is everywhere. Its influence increases. " Sovereignty is no longer an intra-national concept within International Law. It now involves a greater consideration of issues concerning the global community. This thesis develops a practical methodology for the determination of sovereignty over maritime natural resources. Customary international law regarding the use of resources within the maritime zones of islands on the high seas is rapidly developing. Traditional tests, such as the discovery and occupation of islands, are no longer the primary focus of the determination of sovereignty. The methodology expressed in this thesis is an application and adaptation of the current state of the international laws regarding islands within the high seas. This argument has its foundation in the new international treaties, recent decisions of the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. It unifies the latest determinations and theoretical legal perspectives of these bodies to produce a single methodology. This work provides an original and substantial contribution to the knowledge and understanding of sovereignty issues within International Law. The Chapters of this thesis and their sub-headings progressively illuminate the individual elements of a distinctive formula for determining the sovereignty of islands within the high seas. The Chapters form a template for this methodology, which is applied to the Falkland Islands. Thus, each chapter is a step towards the determination of sovereignty. This modus operandi can be applied to new disputes in this realm, such as those filed with the International Court of Justice. Since 1982, the definitive ownership of the Falkland Islands proper has been determined, if not by International Law, then by warfare. However, conflict over the use of natural resources in the maritime zones continues.

Tesis por compendio de publicaciones
Objetivos: El objetivo general de esta tesis es contribuir al análisis de repositorios de conocimiento biomédico ayudando a expertos del dominio a detectar semántica oculta mediante el uso de un método automático sistemáticamente aplicable. Esta metodología ayudará a detectar situaciones para enriquecer ontologías explotando la expresividad de los lenguajes formales en los que están definidas. Los objetivos son el desarrollo e implementación de: (1) una metodología para la caracterización automática de ontologías usando los identificadores de sus conceptos descritos en lenguaje natural (LN); (2) una metodología que permita descubrir semántica oculta transformable en axiomas lógicos contribuyendo al enriquecimiento de las ontologías biomédicas; (3) una plataforma integrada que ayude a expertos del dominio con pocos conocimientos técnicos u ontológicos. Metodología: Para conseguir estos objetivos se analiza el estado del arte de las áreas: web semántica, bioinformática, repositorios de conocimiento biomédico, enriquecimiento de ontologías. Después, se formaliza la metodología propuesta en los siguientes módulos: (1) procesamiento de la ontología, obtención de las regularidades léxicas (LRs) y su caracterización léxica; (2) procesamiento de LN; (3) métricas, incluyendo dos tipos: métricas de modularidad y localidad, y métrica cross-product extensión; (4) filtrado basado en las métricas; (5) definición de relaciones y patrones de enriquecimiento. La formalización del método se acompaña de su implementación, que permite aplicarlo sobre un conjunto de ontologías biomédicas disponibles en Internet. Finalmente, se analizan y validan los resultados. Debido a la ausencia de un gold standard se desarrollan estrategias de comparación del método con trabajo previo. Resultados: Como resultado se obtienen: - La metodologías para analizar ontologías a partir de las LRs en los identificadores. - Un método escalable debido a: (1) la organización de los identificadores como un grafo de tokens. Este grafo permite acelerar el proceso de búsqueda de las LRs y utiliza parámetros como el coverage threshold como mecanismo para optimizar y podar las búsquedas; (2) las métricas que permiten la priorización de LRs usando como base diferentes aspectos relacionados con propiedades semánticas de las ontologías como la distancia semántica (modularidad y localización), o alineamientos léxicos; (3) el grafo permite implementar un algoritmo de alineamiento parcial entre etiquetas de ontologías en lugar de la etiqueta completa. Para ello, se utilizan técnicas de pre-procesamiento de LN. - La aplicación del método sobre un conjunto de ontologías biomédicas disponibles en BioPortal para: (1) caracterizarlas léxicamente usando el contenido en LN de sus identificadores y alineamientos entre las LRs y otras ontologías. El método permite crear clusters de ontologías según su adecuación para ser usadas para su enriquecimiento; (2) aplicación del método sobre Gene Ontology (GO) y reconstrucción de los productos cruzados previamente usados por el GO Consortium para enriquecerlo con el objetivo de validar la metodología. Conclusiones Los métodos propuestos están disponibles en la aplicación web http://sele.inf.um.es/ontoenrich. La visualización de las LRs y métricas permite a los expertos en el dominio descubrir y analizar semántica oculta convertible en axiomas lógicos. El método contribuye al análisis automático y sistemático de ontologías biomédicas. Sin embargo, hasta ahora, la transformación automática de LRs en patrones de diseño ontológicos no ha sido posible más allá de la creación de relaciones taxonómicas. Aunque no se ha podido automatizar completamente la creación de las relaciones, hemos comparado las clases capturadas por las LRs con aquellas usadas por el GO Consortium para enriquecer GO usando productos cruzados. Se ha obtenido una exhaustividad y precisión media del 62% y 28% respectivamente. El análisis de los falsos positivos y negativos ayuda a explicar estos valores e identificar fortalezas y debilidades del método.
Objectives: The general goal of this thesis is to contribute to the analysis of biomedical knowledge repositories by supporting domain experts in the detection of hidden semantics in an automatic way. The proposed methodology will help to systematically generate more complete ontologies, so that they exploit the expressivity behind the formal knowledge representation language in which they are defined The goals of this thesis are the development and implementation of: (1) a methodology for the lexical characterisation of ontologies using the analysis of identifiers codified in natural language; (2) a methodology that lets user elucidate hidden semantics that might be transformed in logical axioms; (3) an integrated platform that helps domain experts with low technical or ontological knowledge in the application of the method. Methodology: In order to achieve previous goals we study the state of the art in: semantic web, bioinformatics, biomedical knowledge repositories and ontology enrichment. After this, we formalised the proposed methodology being composed by the next modules: (1) ontology processing, calculation of the lexical regularities (LRs) and its lexical characterisation.; (2) natural language processing (NLP); (3) metrics that measure different semantic aspects including modularity and locality metrics and the cross-product extension (CPE) metric; (4) filtering based on the metrics values; and (5) extraction of relations and definition of enrichment patterns.. The formalization of the method is supported by its implementation, which let us its applicability to a set of biomedical ontologies available on the Internet. Finally, the analysis and validation of the results is addressed. Due to the absence of a gold standard we developed a comparison strategy between our method and others from the state of the art solutions. Results: The results obtained are: - The methodology for analysing ontologies based on LRs in class labels. - The scalable implementation of the method, due to the following features: (1) the graph organization for labels, which speeds up the process of searching LRs and used the coverage threshold as a mechanism for optimizing and pruning the search; (2) the metrics, which prioritize LRs according different aspects related to different ontology properties like semantic distance, modularity or alignments based on textual similarity; (3) the graph structure lets us to implement an ontology matching alignment algorithm based on partial alignments instead of the whole label and using NLP pre-processing techniques. - The application of the method to a number of biomedical ontologies available in biomedical repositories like BioPortal in order to: (1) characterise BioPortal ontologies based on the content codified in their labels and matches between LRs and other ontologies. We used the method to create clusters of ontologies according to their adequacy to be used in enrichment methods; (2) application of the method to the Gene Ontology (GO) and reconstruction of cross-products previously addressed by the GO Consortium. This helps us to validate the method against previous work where relations where created. Conclusions All the proposed methods are available at http://sele.inf.um.es/ontoenrich. The visualization of the LRs using different metrics, which measures different semantic relations. This helps domain experts to elucidate and analyse hidden semantics. The method contributes to the automatic and systematic analysis of biomedical ontologies from different semantic axes. However, so far the automatic transformation of LRs into ontology design patterns have not been addressed beyond taxonomical relations. Although we cannot automatically set the relations, we compare the classes captured by lexical regularities with those that were used to enrich the GO using cross-products. This is modelled using the CPE metric obtaining a mean recall and precision of 62% and 28%, respectively. The manual analysis of an automatic comparison let us detect strengths and downsides of the method.

Water resources managers are required to develop comprehensive water resource plans based on severely uncertain information of the effects of climate change on local hydrology and future socio-economic changes to localised demand. In England and Wales, current water resource planning methodologies include a headroom estimation process separate from water resources simulation modelling. This process quantifies uncertainty based on only one point of an assumed range of deviations from the expected climate and projected demand 25 years into the future. The research presented herein addresses this problem by developing an integrated the Water Resources Planning Robustness Assessment (WRP-RA) method based on Information-Gap Decision Theory (IGDT) to quantitatively assess the robustness of various supply side and demand side management options over a broad range of plausible futures. Findings show that beyond the uncertainty range explored with the headroom method, a preference reversal can occur, i.e. some management strategies that underperform at lower uncertainties, outperform at higher levels of uncertainty. Also, some management strategies that perform relatively well within the headroom range of uncertainty, fail just beyond this range. Additionally, this thesis demonstrates that when 50% or more of the population adopts demand side management in the form of efficiency related measures and/or innovative options such as rainwater collection and/or greywater reuse, the robustness of a management strategy can be greatly improved as can its ability to recover after a drought episode. The use of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis shifts the focus away from reservoir expansion options and large-scale river abstractions that perform best in regards to water availability, to strategies that include innovative demand side management actions of rainwater collection and greywater reuse as well efficiency measures along with more traditional supply-side schemes. Therefore, this thesis illustrates how the WRP-RA can offer a comprehensive picture of the relative robustness of management strategies to more extreme supply/demand futures. The knowledge of which options and collections of options perform better in response to higher demands and lower supplies offers insight into more secure long term investment strategies.

Hybrid Energy Resource System (HERS) is studied and applied aroundworld in recent years. Control and monitor of them are quite important in realapplication. HERS also has the equirement to integral with power grid such asdistribution grid networks. Therefore, to design and implement the informationcommunication system following IEC 61850, which is most promising standard fordesign of substation communication and automation system, is necessary. This paperpresents the design of Information Communication Technology (ICT) architectureand Unified Modeling Language (UML) models and final implementation through LabVIEW programming for Smart Energy Container. Applying design following IEC61850 series standards allow the HERS can communicate and interoperate with other IEC61850 devices and SCADA systems. The implementation is applied to SmartEnergy Container which contains wind power, solar power, battery energy storagesystem, and hydrogen energy storage system. Verification and testing results shows thedesign is qualified to control and monitor Smart Energy Container.
Smart Energy Container

This project uses the body as a framework to understand and re-imagine the archives (here referring to the professionally managed repository). It argues that the archives as a body of knowledge, like the human body, does not and cannot fit into normative stable categories. Tracing the shift in archival paradigms from modern to postmodern, I employ the posthuman to argue for a concomitant shift in understanding of the archival body, which I conceive of as comprising both human and non-human corpora of knowledge and knowledge-making practices. These corpora are simultaneously becoming and unbecoming as multiply-situated identities, technologies, representations, and timescapes. Using temporality as a key element in analyzing archival productions, I consider how this body might sediment. This research, written from my insider perspective as an archivist, implements a transdisciplinary approach that draws from the disciplines of archival and queer studies as well as from somatechnics, embodiment and affect studies, and decolonizing methodologies to advocate for a proposed Queer/ed Archival Methodology, Q/M, that is designed to trouble the concepts of archival theory and production. It also employed on-site observation and interviews at the Transgender Archives in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, observation and narrative analysis of recordings held by the Arizona Queer Archives and the Arizona LGBTQ Storytelling Project, and online interviews with the developer of the Skeivt Arkiv, Norway's first state-sanctioned queer archives. Three overarching questions guided the research: 1) How can archives simultaneously hold normative and non-normative stories, materials and practices together as both complementary and also contradictory without subordinating or otherwise invalidating either and so that each can still be considered worthy of archival attention? 2) How might a Q/M be a radical intervention into normative archival practices and structures and to what ends? 3) What might it mean and look like for a queer/ed archives to be a radically open space? For whom? As we encounter multiply-situated subjects in the postmodern approach and follow traces in order to interrogate the force and function of respectability politics within the archival body, the modern and anthropocentric Cartesian statement 'Je pense, donc je suis' (I think, therefore I am) can no longer support the human and records as the central theme of archival endeavors. The posthuman approach offers many possibilities. Through the understanding that human bodies are relational and contingent in complex ways to non-human bodies and each to bodies of knowledges, human and non-human bodies come together in complex relations and assemblages within the archives. Archival productions can thus represent new and emerging thoughts on lived experiences as these are situated in various structures and systems. The Q/M offers a way of thinking and acting with, about, through, among, and at times in spite of traditional as well as emerging archival practices and processes in order to facilitate new, imaginative, irrational, and unpredictable re-configurations of bodies and archives and the many histories and records therein. Its flexible foundation in the theories employed in the research support Q/M's seven key approaches: 1) Participatory Ethos, 2) Connectivity, 3) Storytelling, 4) Intervention, 5) Re-framing, 6) Re-imagining, and 7) Flexibility & Dynamism.

Denna avhandling har sin grund i mina erfarenheter av att arbete med människor som har funktionsnedsättningar. Vanligtvis är denna grupp den sista en producent ser som sina kunder. Det är ganska vanligt att producenter gör olika produkter(produkter och tjänster) för personer med funktionsnedsättningar och en för andra. Om man istället, i designarbetet utgår från synsättet att de flesta personer vid någon tidpunkt och/eller plats har funktionssvårigheter så blir den potentiella kundgruppen större för produkten.

Ursprunget för avhandlingen är ett projekt, vilket drevs av PTS (Post och Telestyrelsen), med syfte att identifiera vilka typer av stöd eller anpassningar personer med intellektuella funktionsnedsättningar har för att använda bredbandsbaserade tjänster. Resultatet i projektet pekade ut ett antal svårighetsområden där flertalet av dessa svårighetsområden inte var unika för denna grupp.

Utifrån resultat i ovanstående projekt togs det fram en test-, utvärderings- och designmodell (TED-modellen) där ett av stegen använde en ”indikatorgrupp”. Syftet med modellen är att identifiera och ge underlag för att prioritera vilka svårighetsområden det fortsatta designarbetet skall fokuseras på. Indikatorgruppen består av individer med funktionssvårigheter som är relevanta i sammanhanget. Modellen tar vara på möjligheterna i ”design för alla” för att göra att göra bättre produkter för människorna.

De empiriska studierna i denna uppsats är gjorda inom två områden. Den första är i ett designsammanhang, där fem olika hemsidor skulle tas fram och den andra är runt en studie av tre olika affärsarbetsplatser, där kassafunktionen var i fokus för studien.

Resultatet i denna uppsats pekar ut en möjlig inriktning för en designmetodologi, vars målsättning är att få fram bättre produkter för en större grupp. Utgångspunkten är att använda människors olikheter som en möjlighet och inte som ett problem.

Individer med funktionella svårigheter är en resurs för att finna nya innovationer vilket jag har benämnt ”the Lead of Need”. Med detta menar jag att individer med funktionella svårigheter, som har ett behov, en ide för en lösning, men inte har möjlighet att förverkliga denna. Om vi kan organisera en mötesplats för individer med ”the Lead of Need”, designers och utvecklare så har vi skapat ett ”Living lab” för nya innovationer.

This thesis has its roots in my experiences of working with people who have some forms of disability. Usually this group is the last group producers consider as their customers. It is quite common that producers make different products (and services) for individuals with disabilities and for others. If one instead takes the position, in the design work, that most people have some functional difficulties at some point in time or in place, then the potential customer group becomes larger for the product in question.

The origin of this thesis is a project run by the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency (PTS), aiming to identify what kind of support or adaptation people with intellectual disabilities needs when using broadband based services. The result of the project pointed out areas of difficulties. Most areas of difficulties were not unique for this group.

From the result of the PTS-project, a design and evaluation model (TED-model) was built, where one of the steps involved the use of an “indicator group”. The aim for this step is to identify and give basis for prioritizing areas of difficulty that the continued design work should focus on. The indicator group consists of individuals with functional difficulties relevant in a specified context. This method uses the possibilities of “design for all” as facilitator to design better products for more people.

The empirical studies in this thesis were carried out within two areas. The first study was made in a design project, where five different web sites were to be designed, and the second one dealt with three different business workplaces in which the cashier workplaces was in focus.

The results of this thesis point out a possible direction of a design methodology, whose objective is to create better products for larger group of people. The starting point is to use people's differences as a possibility for design, and not a problem.

Individuals with functional difficulties constitute a resource for finding new innovations, which I have termed “the Lead of Need”. With this I mean individuals with functional difficulties, who have a need, an idea for a solution, but not the possibility to make it happen. If we can organise a meeting ground for individuals with “the Lead of Need”, designers, and developers, we will have created a “living lab” for new innovations.

This masters thesis investigates the environmental/climatic change that is thought to have brought about the economic shift and transition from Palaeolithic economic system of hunting gathering to Neolithic economic system of agriculture and domestication period around 11.000-10.000 years ago. This study uses the collected animal and plant data of the Natufian culture in the Levant region from the previous zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical literature anlyses. It shows a significant mathematical difference in the zooarchaeological assemblage measures between the Early and Late Natufian sites by calculating Economic value parameters of the Early and the Late Natufian sites, a comparison analysis was made in terms of percentage frequencies of animals site by site and between early-late periods. The result shows a significant animal food supply decrease and change-shift shown during the Younger Dryas climatic crisis times of the whole Late Natufian period sites total and early to late site by site individually, compared to whole Early Natufian period sites. It shows there is a possibility that some big-base camp Late Natufian occupation sites were better able to create coping mechanisms against food crisis/food shortage and more successfully than other Late Natufian sites during the climatic food crisis period. It shows supporting with the animal-plant data and changes in the human bones, burial practices, human teeth, diet changes and anthropological studies evidence, a big social-economic-cultural change and a huge food crisis was highly possible and humans highly possibly lived an economic crisis and an highly connected-related social-cultural crisis during the Younger Dryas in the Late Natufian times human societies.

Achieving efficiency, or maximizing the outputs achieved per unit of resource invested, is of great interest to governments, donors and other stakeholders in the health sector. Many studies consider efficiency in public health using Cost Effectiveness Analyses which estimate the health outcomes achieved per unit of cost. Others employ Technical Efficiency Analysis to understand which health system units, usually hospitals, provide the most health services per unit of resource. However, very little is known about demand-side efficiency or how efficiently individuals convert available health resources into health outcomes. To address this gap, I developed and piloted a two-stage methodology using Amartya Sen's Capability Approach as a theoretical framework mapping the process by which individuals convert resources into outcomes. The first stage estimates conversion efficiency using Order-m Efficiency Analysis then identifies the social groups most likely to be efficient using regression analysis. The second stage undertakes focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews to investigate how and why the social groups identified in the quantitative stage were more likely to be efficient. I conducted my analysis in Ba Vi district, northern Vietnam looking specifically at how efficiently pregnant women converted maternal health resources—including health facilities and human resources for health—into both appropriate care and healthy pregnancy and delivery. I found that ethnic minorities and women in non-mountainous areas were more likely to be efficient at achieving appropriate care while ethnic minorities and less educated women are more likely to be efficient at achieving healthy pregnancy and delivery outcomes. Through qualitative feedback, women who were ethnic majorities, better educated and generally more affluent expressed stronger technology preference, greater use of the private sector, less continuity of care, tendencies towards overnutrition, less focus on mental and emotional health and more varied sources of health information including advertising and the internet. Evidence links each of these themes to adverse care and/or health outcomes. Consequently, the more affluent populations, who also have a greater endowment of public health resources, may be less likely to achieve good outcomes—explaining at least in part why they are found to be less efficient. My findings highlight that the development process and attendant epidemiological and nutrition transitions give rise to a new set of challenges not solely for public health, but also for the efficiency with which it is achieved using existing health system resources.

Increasing demand and competition for freshwater is threatening instream uses including ecosystem services and aquatic habitat. A standard method of evaluating impacts of alternative water management scenarios on instream habitat is Instream Flow Incremental Methodology (IFIM). The primary outputs of IFIM studies are: 1) habitat rating curves that relate habitat availability to streamflow for every species, lifestage, or recreational use modelled; and 2) habitat time series under alternative water management scenarios. We compiled 428 habitat rating curves from previous IFIM studies across 11 rivers in Virginia and tested the ability to reduce this number based on similarities in flow preferences and responses to flow alteration. Individual site-species combinations were reduced from 428 objects to four groups with similar seasonal habitat availability patterns using a hierarchical, agglomerative cluster analysis. A seasonal habitat availability (SHA) ratio was proposed as a future indicator of seasonal flow preferences. Four parameters calculated from the magnitude and shape of habitat rating curves were proposed as response metrics that indicate how a lifestage responds to flow alteration. Univariate and multivariate analyses of variance and post-hoc tests identified significantly different means for the SHA ratio, QP (F=63.2, p<2e-16) and SK (F=65.6, p<2e-16). A reduced number of instream flow users can simplify the incorporation of aquatic habitat assessment in statewide water resources management.
Master of Science

This study provides a framework using matrices that address three main issues. First of all, the matrices are used to integrated physical needs that compose human systems in an attempt to reduce the human impact. Secondly, the matrices are used to develop a higher integration of time allowing the user to apply time to a wide variety of needs that contribute to a high quality of life. Lastly the matrices are used to integrate the aspects of space with the aspects of time. This shows that the whole, time and space, is greater than the sum of the parts. I pursued this study in an attempt to further define sustainable design. The application of the matrices was practiced in a design competition for urban sustainability.
Department of Architecture

Les symbioses industrielles permettent de créer de nouvelles collaborations entre différentes entités d’un même territoire afin d’échanger des ressources telles que des matières premières, de l’énergie, de l’information et des déchets, et d’intensifier les mutualisations de services et d’infrastructures. Ces dernières années, de nombreuses mesures ont été prises, favorisant et encourageant de telles initiatives. Néanmoins, certains obstacles existent encore quant à leur mise en place et à leur démocratisation. Cette thèse se concentre sur une des problématiques principales de la symbiose industrielle : le manque de partage des informations. Les travaux de recherche s’articulent donc autour de la question suivante : comment formaliser l’échange d’informations entre partenaires industriels dans le but de faciliter la détection et l’évaluation des symbioses industrielles ? Le concept de blueprint est développé et proposé comme solution facilitant l’échange de données entre partenaires industriels. Le blueprint est une représentation générique d’un procédé industriel donné. Une méthodologie détaillée, décrivant la construction du blueprint, la définition des flux qu’il contient, ainsi que la visualisation des profils le constituant, est également présentée. Celle-ci est appliquée à un système industriel de grande envergure : une raffinerie, démontrant sa faisabilité. Enfin, plusieurs exemples d’utilisation du blueprint dans un contexte de symbiose industrielle sont développés. Ils permettent de comprendre dans quel cadre plusieurs blueprints peuvent être combinés, et mettent en évidence la pertinence de la méthode ainsi que les limites de son utilisation
Industrial symbiosis consists of dissimilar entities sharing and valorizing underutilised resources such as materials, energy, information, services, or technologies in view of increasing the industrial system’s circularity. However, despite all efforts and benefits brought by industrial symbiosis, barriers hindering a wide outreach of industrial symbiosis remain unsolved. This thesis targets one of the main barriers to industrial symbiosis: the lack of information sharing. The main research question can be expressed as follow: how to formalise and systematise the exchange of information between industrial partners to facilitate the identification and the assessment of new industrial symbiosis opportunities? The concept of blueprint is developed as a solution for the industry to enable different process sectors to overcome the burden of data confidentially and the challenge of sharing information. A blueprint is constituted of a series of profiles providing insights into key inputs and outputs of a given industry in terms of thermal and electrical energy, materials, and services. A methodology is presented, describing a step-by-step approach for defining the type of data required and for building the plant profiles. To demonstrate the feasibility of the method, it is applied to a typical refinery. Finally, a number of examples is given, demonstrating how blueprints of different process sectors can be combined and evidencing their ability to detect industrial symbiosis. Likewise, considerations are made on their limitations

Mestrado em Gestão de Recursos Humanos
A literatura das disparidades raciais nos processos de recrutamento e seleção sugere que os indivíduos identificados como "Negros" sofrem de maior discriminação racial, ou seja, recebem menos convites para entrevista ou mesmo para contratação, considerando as mesmas qualificações e perfil que os indivíduos identificados como "Brancos". O preconceito racial é apontado como um dos principais motivadores da discriminação racial. Assim, a presente investigação tem como objetivo avaliar a existência de discriminação racial nos processos de recrutamento e seleção, através da avaliação de um perfil, como também analisar a influência do preconceito racial, designadamente o preconceito subtil, nestas disparidades, utilizando uma abordagem metodológica atitudinal. Neste tipo de abordagem, a utilização de profissionais de Recursos Humanos como amostra é escassa, pelo que será um dos grandes contributos desta investigação. Participaram no presente estudo 34 profissionais de Recursos Humanos, de raça "branca", com experiência em recrutamento. Foram utilizados dois instrumentos: o primeiro é um questionário baseado numa vinheta para a avaliação do perfil e respetiva recomendação para entrevista de um candidato "Branco" ou candidato "Negro" e o segundo instrumento é um questionário sobre a escala de preconceito racial. Os resultados sugerem uma discriminação a favor dos "Negros", contrariamente ao esperado. Estes resultados podem estar relacionados com algumas limitações metodológicas. Relativamente ao preconceito racial, não foi possível medir a sua influência na discriminação racial. No final, serão elaboradas algumas considerações metodológicas para a temática da discriminação racial, que deve continuar a ser investigada no sentido de reduzir as disparidades raciais no mercado de trabalho.
The literature of racial disparities in recruitment and selection processes indicates that "Blacks" suffer from major racial discrimination, that is, they are less invited for interviews and less hired compared to "Whites" with the same qualifications and profile. Racial prejudice is considered one of the main motivating forces of this racial discrimination. The main objective in the present investigation is to evaluate the existence of racial discrimination in recruitment and selection processes, through profile evaluation, and to understand the racial prejudice influence, namely, subtle racial prejudice, in those disparities, by using an attitudinal methodological approach. The use of Human Resources professionals as a sample is very rare in this approach, so it will be one of the major contributions of this investigation. The subjects were 34 "White" Human Resources professionals with previous recruitment experience. In this study, two instruments were included: the first is a vignette about a candidate profile evaluation and interview recommendation of a "Black" or "White" candidate, with some questions in the end, and the second instrument is a survey about racial prejudice. Contrary to expectations, results suggest a racial discrimination in favour of the "Blacks". These results may be related to some methodological limitations. Regarding racial prejudice, it was not possible to measure its influence in racial discrimination. Finally, some methodological issues will be discussed about racial discrimination framework, which must be further investigated to reduce racial disparities in labour market.
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In recent decades increasing attention has been paid to the idea of sustainable development and in particular to sustainable agricultural practices. Studies in the seventies, eighties and nineties indicated that many resource-poor farmers were practising low external input sustainable practices by virtue of their resource-poor status. Despite this status these farmers were developing sustainable practises that enabled them to survive even the harshest conditions. It was believed that an understanding of their local practices and associated knowledge, called indigenous technical knowledge by conventional scientists, could provide agricultural development workers with a greater understanding of how to achieve sustainable agricultural development. This awareness would ensure the optimal and sustainable use of local livelihood sources. Following this interest a number of complementary research methods were developed to generate and record indigenous knowledge. Many of these methods fall within the participatory research paradigm of the Social Sciences. Using one of the earlier complementary methods, Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA), this study considers its value as a method to collect indigenous knowledge about the local cultivation and use of indigenous vegetables in a parish in Uganda. The basic RRA tools are described and the position of RRA within the participatory research paradigm is discussed, indicating that the method probably has a lower-middle of the road position when placed on a continuum of participation. In this study the use of the method enabled the generation of information relating to the context in which agriculture was practised in the parish; specifically the production and use of plants known as indigenous vegetables. At the same time the tools enabled a broad understanding of indigenous knowledge regarding the production, associated practises and beliefs, as well as the use of indigenous vegetables in the parish. This information included technical and socio-cultural information indicating that indigenous knowledge is not only about technical knowledge. In recent years debate has emerged with regard to the value, use and misuse of indigenous knowledge. The debate has questioned the ability of various participatory complementary methods to accurately generate and record this knowledge. One of the main concerns is that most of these methods, like those associated with the quantitative and qualitative paradigms, tend to have inherent biases which detract from their value. Reflection on the use of RRA in the Ugandan study indicated that it was subject to a number of contextual constraints, namely: the assumption and treatment of indigenous knowledge as a stock of knowledge which can neatly conform to scientific categorisation; the unawareness of the powerladen interactions in which knowledge is generated; the consequences of local power struggles on the generation of knowledge; the significance that the presence of researchers during the knowledge generating process has on the resultant knowledge; the relevance of the time, timing and location where knowledge is generated; and the effect that local social differences, such as gender, age, wealth, class, etc. have on who has access to what sort of knowledge. More recently developed and refined methods such as Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Participatory Technology Development (PTD) include some tools and strategies that overcome some of these constraints. However, these methods are often subject to similar constraints, given the context in which they are used. In the final analysis, the use of the RRA method in Uganda is considered to be a useful tool for collecting contextual data and indigenous knowledge given the circumstances in which it was used. These circumstances included financial constraints, a lack of skills in the complementary methods within the research team, insufficient time and other resources. These hindrances are common in many agricultural development contexts. Based on the results of the study it is recommended that where circumstances permit it, participatory methods such as PRA and PTD should be used. However, users must remain aware that these methods can suffer from some contextual constraints if they are not used with care and if this use is not regularly reflected upon. Despite a number of shortcomings, the use of the RRA method indicated that it is a suitable method in certain contexts. It also indicated that indigenous knowledge is extremely important for agricultural development, but that care must be taken as to how it is generated, understood, recorded and subsequently used. The data generated by means of the RRA method enabled some preliminary reflections on the current understanding of indigenous knowledge. These were reflections on the following: it is a system of knowledge; it originates in and is exclusive to a particular location; it has the ability to include knowledge developed in other locations; and it is deeply entwined within the context in which it is developed. In conclusion a number of possible areas for future research on indigenous knowledge and participatory methods are identified which will allow us to develop a deeper understanding of the value of participatory methods and the significance of indigenous knowledge.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Gedurende die afgelope dekades is verhoogde aandag geskenk aan die idee van volhoubare ontwikkeling en spesifiek aan volhoubare landboupraktyke. Studies gedurende die sewentigs, tagtigs en negentigs wys daarop dat verskeie hulpbronbeperkte boere lae eksterne inset, volhoubare praktyke be-oefen het na aanleiding van hulle hulpbronbeperkte status. Nieteenstaande hierdie boere se stand van sake het hulle nietemin standhoudende praktyke ontwikkel wat hulle in staat gestel het om selfs die moeilikste omstandighede te oorleef. Daar was geglo dat deur van hulle plaaslike praktyke en die daarmee saamgaande kennis, bekend as Inheemse Tegniese Kennis onder konvensionele wetenskaplikes, te begryp, dit landbouontwikkelingswerkers kan voorsien van ‘n beter begrip rakende, hoe om standhoudende landbou-ontwikkeling te bereik. Hierdie bewustheid sal die optimale en volhoubare gebruik van plaaslike lewens- en huishoudingsbronne verseker. As gevolg van hierdie belangstelling is ‘n hele aantal komplimenterende navorsingsmetodes ontwikkel om inheemse kennis in te win en op te teken. Verskeie van hierdie metodes val binne die deelnemende navorsingsparadigma van die Geesteswetenskappe. Deur gebruik te maak van een van die vroeëre aanvullende metodes, Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA), lê die waarde van RRA daarin dat dit ‘n metode is om inheemse kennis in te samel rakende die plaaslike verbouïng en gebruik van inheemse groentes in ‘n wyk in Uganda. Die basiese RRA tegnieke word omskryf asook die posisie van RRA binne die deelnemende navorsings paradigma en dan word daar aangedui dat die metode heel moontlik ‘n lae-middelposisie het wanneer dit geplaas word in terme van ‘n kontinuüm van deelname. In hierdie studie het die metode dit moontlik gemaak om inligting in te win wat verband hou met die konteks waarbinne landbou be-oefen is in die wyk; spesifiek wat produksie en die gebruik van plante, bekend as inheemse groentes, aanbetref. Terselfdertyd het die tegnieke ‘n breër begrip daargestel van inheemse kennis rakende die produksie, daarmee saamgaande praktyke en plaaslike menings, sowel as die gebruik van inheemse groentes in die wyk. Hierdie inligting het ingesluit die tegniese en sosio-kulturele inligting en aangedui dat inheemse kennis nie net oor tegniese kennis handel nie. In die pas afgelope jare het die debat ontstaan rakende die waarde, gebruik en misbruik van inheemse kennis. Die debat het die vermoë van die verskeie deelnemende komplimentêre metodes om akkuraat hierdie kennis in te win en op te skryf, bevraagteken. Een van die hoof bekommernisse is dat die meeste van hierdie metodes, soos die verbonde aan kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe paradigmas, daarna neig om inherent bevooroordeeld te wees wat hulle van hul waarde laat verminder. ‘n Refleksie op die gebruik van RRA in die Uganda-studie wys daarop dat dit onderhewig was aan ‘n aantal kontekstuele beperkings naamlik: die aanname en hantering van inheemse kennis as ‘n inventaris van kennis wat netjies omgeskakel kan word in wetenskaplike katagorisering; onbewustheid van die magsonewewigtigheid interaksies waarbinne kennis ingewin word; die gevolge van plaaslike magstryde op die insameling van kennis; die effek wat die teenwoordigheid van navorsers tydens die proses van kennis insameling het op die resultaatgewende kennis, die relevansie van tyd, tydsberekening en plek waar kennis ingewin word; en die effek wat plaaslike sosiale verskille, soos geslag, ouderdom, rykdom, klas, ens. het op wie toegang het tot watter soort van kennis. Meer onlangs ontwikkelde en verfynde metodes soos Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) en Participtory Technology Development (PTD) sluit van die tegnieke en strategieë in wat sommige van hierdie beperkings oorkom. Maar sommige van hierdie metodes is gereëld onderworpe aan soortgelyke beperkings, gegewe die konteks waarbinne dit gebruik word. In die finale analise is die gebruik van die RRA metode in Uganda beskou as ‘n bruikbare tegniek vir die insameling van kontekstuele data en inheemse kennis, gegewe die omstandighede waarbinne dit gebruik is. Hierdie omstandighede sluit in, finansiele beperkings, ‘n gebrek aan vaardigheid met die komplimentêre metodes binne die navorsingspan, onvoldoende tyd en ander bronne. Hierdie hindernisse is algemeen in verskeie landbouontwikkelingskontekste. Gebasseer op die resultate van die studie word aanbeveel dat waar omstandighede hul daartoe leen, deelnemende metodes soos PRA en PTD, gebruik moet word. Maar gebruikers moet daarvan bewus bly dat hierdie metodes kan ly aan kontekstuele tekortkomings indien hulle nie met sorg gebruik word en daar nie gereeld oor die gebruik daarvan gereflekteer word nie. Ten spyte van ‘n aantal tekortkomminge het die gebruik van die RRA metode aangewys dat dit ‘n toespaslike metode binne ‘n sekere konteks is. Dit het ook aangewys dat inheemse kennis uiters belangrik is vir landbouontwikkeling, maar dat sorg gedra moet word rakende hoe dit ingewin, verstaan, opgeskryf en daarna gebruik word. Die data wat ingewin is deur middel van die RRA metode het voorlopige refleksies moontlik gemaak rakende die huidige begrip van inheemse kennis. Hierdie was refleksies op die volgende: dit is ‘n stelsel van kennis, dit ontstaan in en is eksklusief aan ‘n spesifieke gebied, dit het die vermoë om kennis in te sluit wat in ander gebiede ontwikkel is, en dit is diep ingeweef in die konteks waarbinne dit ontwikkel is. Ten slotte ‘n hele aantal moontlike areas vir toekomstige navorsing rakende inheemse kennis en deelnemende metodes is geidentifiseer wat ons in staat sal stel om ‘n beter begrip te ontwikkel van die waarde van deelnemende metodes en die belangrikheid van inheemse kennis.

The present Ph.D. thesis addresses the problem of deep data-driven Natural Language Generation (NLG), and in particular the role of proper corpus annotation schemata for stochastic sentence realization. The lack of multilevel corpus annotation has prevented so far the development of proper statistical NLG systems starting from abstract structures. We first detail a methodology for annotating corpora at different levels of linguistic abstraction (namely, semantic, deep-syntactic, surface-syntactic, topological, and morphological levels), and report on the actual annotation of such corpora, manually for Spanish and automatically for English. Then, using the resulting annotated data for our experiments, we train and evaluate deep stochastic NLG tools which go beyond the current state of the art, in particular thanks to the absence of rules in non-isomorphic transductions. Finally, we show that such data can also serve well other purposes such as statistical surface and deep dependency parsing.
La presente tesis aborda el problema de la generación de textos partiendo desde estructuras profundas; se examina especialmente el papel de un esquema de anotación apropiado para la generación estadística de oraciones. La falta de anotación en varios niveles ha impedido hasta ahora el desarrollo de sistemas de generación estadística desde estructuras abstractas. En primer lugar, se detalla la metodología para anotar corpus en varios niveles (representaciones semánticas, sintácticas profundas, sintácticas superficiales, topológicas y morfológicas), y se presenta su proceso de anotación, manual para el español, y automático para el inglés. Posteriormente, se usan los datos anotados para entrenar y evaluar varios generadores de textos que van más allá del estado del arte actual, en particular porque no contienen reglas para transducciones no isomórficas. Por último, se muestra que estos datos se pueden utilizar también para otros objetivos tales como el análisis sintáctico estadístico de estructuras superficiales y profundas.

The high school research paper is a task which consumes instructional time, requires considerable student effort, and places a high demand on school library resources. Little research has been conducted on how students accomplish this task. Academic task research indicates that in classrooms, tasks are defined by students in terms of (a) the nature of the products the teacher will accept and (b) the operations allowed and the resources available. Here the product is the research paper; the resources available include those found in the school library. The purpose of this study was to determine what strategies students use to perform the library-related task.

Este estudo trata da tomada de decisão com dados replicados e inconsistentes, relativos ao universo de Recursos Humanos, em uma instituição financeira nacional. A replicação ocorre por questões técnicas e/ou econômicas, e visa o atendimento de necessidades corporativas e departamentais dessa instituição. Como metodologia de pesquisa, utilizou-se a observação direta das inconsistências e a simulação com base em dados reais que refletissem a replicação com inconsistências. A aplicação de um método multicritério fez-se necessária ante a necessidade de se tornar racional o processo de tomada de decisão, e que se transformou em elemento de motivação deste estudo. O método utilizado foi a Teoria dos Conjuntos Aproximativos (TCA), tendo em vista que nenhuma outra informação havia sobre a ocorrência de tais inconsistências. Um algoritmo foi desenvolvido para indicação das fontes principais de dados e, posteriormente, implementado em um software para agilizar a pesquisa dessas fontes. A aplicação da TCA mostrou-se uma ferramenta útil para a empresa em questão, dentre outras possíveis soluções, com o intuito de dirimir as conseqüências indesejáveis da tomada de decisão com dados replicados e inconsistentes.
This study deals about decision-making with replicated and inconsistent data, relating to the universe of Human Resources, within a domestic/local financial institution. Replication occurs because of technical and/or economic questions, and seeks to meet corporate and departmental requirements of such an institution. As research methodology, direct observation of such inconsistencies was used as well as a simulation based on actual data which would reflect replication with inconsistencies. Application of a multi-criteria method became necessary in view of the need to render the decision-making process rational, and was transformed into an element that stimulated this study. The method used was the Rough Set Theory (RST), inasmuch as there existed no other information on the occurrence of such inconsistencies. An algorithm was developed to indicate the major data sources and was subsequently implemented into a software to facilitate research of such sources. Application of the RST proved to be a useful tool for the company in question, within other possible solutions, for the purpose of preventing any unwanted consequences of decision-making with replicated and inconsistent data.
Dissertação (mestrado) - Programa de Pós-Graduação em Administração e Economia, Faculdades IBMEC, Rio de Janeiro, 2008.
Bibliografia: p. 81-84.

De acordo com a Lei Federal n° 9.433/97, que instituiu a Política e o Sistema Nacional de Gerenciamento dos Recursos Hídricos, o planejamento de recursos hídricos deve ter um enfoque sistêmico, de uso múltiplo das águas e descentralização das decisões, adotando a bacia hidrográfica como unidade de gestão. Dentro deste contexto, de descentralização de decisões e participação de grandes grupos no processo de tomada de decisão sobre a gestão dos recursos hídricos, os procedimentos clássicos de avaliação de alternativas para planejar o uso, controle e proteção das águas tornam-se limitados por sua impossibilidade de incluir outros critérios, além da minimização dos custos ou da maximização dos benefícios, e por não considerarem a subjetividade inerente ao processo de tomada de decisão, que corresponde ao sistema de valores dos atores envolvidos na tomada de decisões. Assim, este trabalho apresenta um Método Multicritério em Apoio à Decisão para o planejamento de recursos hídricos de bacias hidrográficas, que além de incorporar vários critérios na avaliação de alternativas, por adotar uma abordagem construtivista, propicia a participação de todos os atores envolvidos no processo de tomada de decisão. Para testar a aplicabilidade prática do método proposto foi escolhida a bacia hidrográfica do rio dos Sinos, localizada no estado do Rio Grande do Sul, sendo construído um Modelo Multicritério de Avaliação de Alternativas para o Plano da Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio dos Sinos. Os resultados do trabalho demonstraram a robustez da proposta que, ao possibilitar a geração e avaliação de alternativas para o Plano da Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio dos Sinos, a partir de diversos critérios, e levando em conta o sistema de valores dos decisores, se constituiu em um diferencial capaz de conferir maior legitimidade ao processo de tomada de decisões sobre o planejamento de recursos hídricos de bacias hidrográficas.
According to the Federal Law n. 9433/97, which established the Water Resources Management National System and Policy, water resource planning must have a systemic approach, with multiple use of water and decentralization of decisions, adopting the water basin as a management unit. In this context – based on decentralization of decisions and on the participation of influential groups in decision-taking on water resources – traditional assessment procedures used to evaluate conditions for water usage, control and protection planning become limited due to the impossibility to include other criteria. Besides, these procedures do not take into consideration cost reduction, benefit increase and subjectiveness, particular feature of the decision taking process, and which corresponds to the value system of the actors involved in such process. Thus, this research presents a Supportive Multicriteria Methodology for Decision Aid to be used in water resources planning in water basins. The Methodology not only includes several assessment criteria – since it is based on a constructivist approach – but also allows for the participation of all the actors involved in the decision taking process. In order to test the practical application of the proposed methodology, Rio dos Sinos Water Basin in Rio Grande do Sul state was selected and, consequently, an Assessment Multicriteria Model for this region was developed. Results proved the proposal strong since it made possible the creation and assessment of alternatives for Rio dos Sinos Water Basin Planning, based on several criteria and taking into consideration the value system of the ones involved. Thus, it constituted a relevant feature to legitimate the decision taking process on the water resources planning in water basins.

This thesis aims to show how biogeophysical and social processes are interlinked in landscape change, and to propose approaches for interdisciplinary environmental assessments (such as EIAs), concentrating on developing countries’ situations, and representation of findings from such studies.

Landscape in its holistic sense is a very good concept and basis for intellectual and practical use in environmental dialogues. However, landscapes are valued and assessed differently, depending on cultural background along with individual characteristics.

Methods of conducting interdisciplinary environmental assessments need to vary, but it is important to follow a structure to avoid too broad and general studies that only assemble a few factors and present them without an integrated synthesis. This thesis has suggested one research sequence and structure that has proven to be practical and possible to execute in areas where data is scarce and where local involvement is a major component. It extends the observation period in time and space where remote sensing analyses are integrated with interviews, archive material, land-cover assessments and soil analyses.

Case studies from Tanzania have been used to investigate how perceptions of land and resources manifest themselves at local scales and how this information can contribute to sustainable environmental planning. Preferences and perceptions of land as being ‘important’ and ‘good’ do not always correlate with favourable biogeophysical conditions, indicating that both social services, such as health care, access to markets, education and employment, as well as “non-rational” factors are essential to consider in environmental planning and management.

This study has partly been part of a larger research project investigating the links between human livelihood and biodiversity in miombo woodlands. It has been shown how miombo woodland is important to local populations as it provides material goods as well as many intangible services. However, it is also associated with problems and dangers, which are important to consider and understand in planning for the environment and sustainable development.

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This work had the objective to develop assistive technology (learning object) which enabled teaching and learning of spatial geometry by student with partial sight deficiencies, from observations made at the Centro de Apoio Pedagógico (CAP) do Centro Brasileiro de Reabilitação e Apoio ao Deficiente Visual (Cebrav). The Centro Integrado de Aprendizagem em Rede (Ciar) gave support for the achievement of the purposes of this work. The application was developed under discussions and meetings with the researcher, her advisor and the Ciar team, from the information collected at Cebrav and the requirements presented by the teacher and the students, subjects to this investigation. The research was to understand the object characteristics that must contain an associated learning object to manipulable material for the teaching of spatial geometry content for students with partial sight deficiencies. This investigation studied which characteristics a learning object hyperlinked to manipulable material for teaching spatial geometry content must have, to assist students with partial sight deficiencies in the context of a social-historical methodology purpose. The following objectives were defined: A) Analyze the characteristics of a learning object hyperlinked to manipulable material for students with partial sight deficiencies, with the teacher and the students collaboration; B) Identify the mediations conducted by a professor of mathematics and the strategies presented by students with partial sight deficiencies in math workshops, with the learning object Edrons aid, hyperlinked to manipulable material for teaching spatial geometry.The investigative approach was qualitative and the method adopted was the Pedagogical-Investigative Intervention (Intervenção pedagógico-investigativa). To do the research, the utilized instruments were the participants observation, the applying of questionnaires, video recordings, semi-structure interviews and the workshop activities. The theoretical assumptions that guided this study were based on the socio- historical conception of Vygotsky and the laws, decrees and resolutions from the Brazilian and International Legislation. The results show: A) The learning object Edrons is an assistive technology that provides resource and methodology for spatial geometry teaching/learning for students with partial sight deficiencies; B) Even in situations considered best for the use of assistive technology conducting pilot tests to students with partial sight deficiencies, situations of interference in the teaching/learning procedure can occur, in this case, the teaching mediation role is fundamental to potentiate the resolution of activities that use this technology; C) The teacher-researcher mediation with the use of manipulable materials allowed the students with partial sight deficiencies to develop manipulation and tactile exploration strategies of the objects, this potentiated their perception as to the relative positions between straight lines in space in written activities or virtual environment and also induced and potentiated the generalization of Euler's relation to students with partial sight deficiency. As an educational product of this research, we developed an application containing prism and pyramid activities for students with partial sight deficiencies.
Este trabalho teve como objetivo desenvolver uma tecnologia assistiva (objeto de aprendizagem) que possibilitasse o ensino e a aprendizagem de geometria espacial por alunos com baixa visão, a partir de observações realizadas no Centro de Apoio Pedagógico (CAP) do Centro Brasileiro de Reabilitação e Apoio ao Deficiente Visual (Cebrav). Para alcançar esse objetivo, contou-se com a colaboração do Centro Integrado de Aprendizagem em Rede (Ciar). O aplicativo foi concebido em discussões e reuniões com o pesquisador, sua orientadora e a equipe do Ciar, a partir das informações coletadas no Cebrav e das demandas apresentadas pela professora e pelos os estudantes, sujeitos desta investigação. A pesquisa teve com objeto compreender as características que deve conter um objeto de aprendizagem associado a materiais manipuláveis para o ensino de conteúdos de geometria espacial para alunos com baixa visão. Como problema, esta investigação analisou quais as características que um objeto de aprendizagem hiperligado a materiais manipuláveis, para o ensino de conteúdos de geometria espacial, deve conter para atender aos alunos com baixa visão no contexto de uma proposta metodológica sócio-histórica? Foram definidos como objetivos específicos: a)Analisar as características de um objeto de aprendizagem de geometria espacial hiperligado com materiais manipuláveis para alunos com baixa visão, com a colaboração dos alunos e da professora; b) Identificar as mediações desenvolvidas por um professor de matemática e as estratégias apresentadas por alunos com baixa visão, nas oficinas de matemática, com o auxílio do objeto de aprendizagem Edrons hiperligado com os materiais manipuláveis no ensino de geometria espacial. A abordagem investigativa foi qualitativa e o método adotado foi a Intervenção pedagógico-investigativa. Para realizar a pesquisa, os instrumentos utilizados foram as observações participantes, a aplicação de questionários, a gravação de vídeos, as entrevistas semiestruturas e as atividades das oficinas. Os pressupostos teóricos que nortearam este estudo estiveram fundamentados na concepção sócio-histórica de Vygotsky e nas leis, decretos e resoluções pertencentes à legislação brasileira e internacional. Os resultados mostram que: a) o objeto de aprendizagem Edrons é uma tecnologia assistiva, que oferece recurso e metodologia para o ensino/aprendizagem de geometria para alunos de baixa visão; b) mesmo em situações consideradas recomendadas quanto ao uso da tecnologia assistiva, com a realização de testes pilotos para alunos com baixa visão, podem ocorrer situações de interferência no procedimento de ensino/aprendizagem e, nesse sentido, o papel da mediação docente nas interferências é fundamental para potencializar a resolução de atividades por meio do uso dessa tecnologia; c) as mediações do professor-pesquisador, por meio do uso de materiais manipuláveis, permitiram aos alunos com baixa visão desenvolverem estratégias de manipulação e exploração tátil dos objetos, o que potencializou sua percepção quanto às posições relativas entre retas no espaço em atividades escritas ou em ambiente virtual e também induziram e potencializaram a generalização da relação de Euler com alunos de baixa visão. Como produto educacional desta pesquisa, elaboramos um aplicativo, contendo atividades de prisma e pirâmide para alunos com baixa visão.

O presente trabalho versa sobre a gestão dos recursos hídricos sob a ótica dos princípios ambientais. O acesso à água é um direito humano fundamental. A implementação desse direito encontra-se dificultada em razão do contexto fático global de crise da água. As causas e conseqüências da escassez quali-quantitativa da água estão relacionadas diretamente ao homem, da mesma forma que seu necessário enfrentamento depende de mudanças de percepção e comportamento do próprio ser humano. Preconiza-se o rompimento do paradigma antropocentrista, que deve ser transmutado para uma visão ecocêntrica. A efetivação do direito fundamental de que se trata depende de inúmeras providências, destacando-se a publicização integral da propriedade da água pela Constituição de 1988. A finalidade dessa relevante alteração no regime de dominialidade hídrica foi dar ao Estado o meio para o adequado gerenciamento da água como forma de estabilizar ou reduzir a crise e promover justiça social. Compete ao Estado social a satisfação do bem-estar coletivo, o que é mais factível se tiver sob seu domínio o recurso atualmente escasso e de relevância pública. Os recursos hídricos ingressam no patrimônio estatal na categoria dos bens de uso comum do povo. Apesar disso, sua gestão se dá de forma descentralizada e participativa. Na tarefa de administrar as águas, o jurista utiliza-se dos princípios estruturantes do Direito Ambiental, notabilizando-se os princípios materiais do desenvolvimento sustentável, prevenção, precaução, poluidor-pagador e usuário-pagador. Todos eles estão previstos pela Constituição Federal. O desenvolvimento sustentável é um sobreprincípio, sendo mais do que um princípio. O critério de ponderação que é utilizado para solver o conflito entre princípios, no caso do ecodesenvolvimento aplica-se apenas entre seus elementos internos, não entre o desenvolvimento sustentável e outros princípios. Este princípio-reitor é muito útil na apreciação do modelo de produção de energia hidrelétrica, que causa degradações ambientais significativas, e sempre tem repercussão, também, nos planos econômico e social. Os princípios da prevenção e da precaução servem à proteção dos mananciais superficiais e subterrâneos. A precaução, porém, auxilia de forma mais apropriada na defesa das águas subterrâneas, uma vez que o estado da técnica não permite mensurar qual o impacto ambiental do consumo excessivo de água de poços, que consiste em uma realidade contemporânea crescente. Os princípios do poluidor-pagador e do usuário-pagador fundamentam teoricamente o instrumento da cobrança pela utilização dos recursos hídricos, que o legislador resolveu adotar como forma de incentivar a racionalização do uso da água. A pesquisa é do tipo bibliográfica. O método-base adotado é o analítico. Diversas formas de análise foram empregadas, registrando-se a estruturalista, a histórica e a descritiva. Como a adoção de um método-base não afasta a aplicação dos demais, pois cada trabalho científico acaba sendo construído de modo singular, utilizaram-se também, ao longo da dissertação, os métodos dialético, hermenêutico e sistêmico.
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The present work concerns the natural water resource management under the evironmental principles. Access to water is a basic human right. The implementation of this right is made all the more difficult on account of the global water crisis. The causes and consequences of these quality and quantity shortages of fresh water are directly related to man, likewise, in adequately facing this problem, a change in perception and behavior must be undertaken by humankind. A move away from the pattern of anthropocentrism to a more ecocentric view is needed. Carrying out these basic laws depends on innumerable steps, clarified in the integral publication of water properties in the constitution of 1988. The objective of this relevant alteration in water property was to give the state the means for the adequate management of water as a form of stabilizing or reducing the crisis and promoting social justice. It is the responsibility of the state to see to collective well being, which is made easier when the resource, which is presently scarce, is held under it s domain of public relevance. Natural water resources are held under the category of common use resources within the patrimony of the state. Despite this, it is managed in a decentralized and collaborative fashion. In the task of managing these water resources, the jurist uses the structured principles of Environmental Law, observing the main principles of sustainable development, prevention, precaution, paying pollutant and paying user. All of which have been foreseen by the Federal constitution. Sustainable development is more than a principle. The basis of consideration used to solve the conflict between the principles, in the case of eco-development is only applied within its internal elements, not within sustainable development and other principles. This fundamental principle is very useful in the appreciation of the model of production of hydroelectric energy, which causes significant environmental degradation and always has repercussions within economic and social plans. Precaution, however, acts as a more appropriate method of protecting subterranean waters, whereby the technical state no longer permits the measuring of the environmental impact of excessive consumption of well water, which includes a growing contemporary reality. The principles of the paying pollutant and the paying user theoretically substantiate the instrument of collective use of natural water resources, which the legislator resolved to adopt in order to stimulate rationing in the use of water. The research is in a bibliographical format. The method-base is analytical. Various forms of analysis were used, including structuralistic, historic and descriptive types. As the adoption of a certain method-base does not dismiss the need of others, so each scientific project is formed in a singular fashion, including, within the dissertation, dialectic, hermeneutic and systemic methods.

Helium exploration is still in its infancy. Noble gas and stable isotopic analyses have proven to be effective tools in the past for determining the correlation between 4He and associated N2 and the role of groundwater in the transport and focusing of these gases alongside unrelated natural gases such as CH4 and CO2 into traps (Ballentine and Sherwood-Lollar, 2002). In this thesis these tracers are used to further understand aspects of the helium system such as source(s), gas migration pathways and trapping mechanisms and from this to ultimately present a framework for a helium exploration method. Geochemical studies were conducted on CH4-rich helium gas reservoirs in the Mid-Continent US and, for the first time, on N2-rich helium gas reservoirs in Utah, Montana and Saskatchewan, Canada. Both types of 4He-rich system showed consistent 4He-associated N2 endmembers with δ15N values between -3.00‰ and +2.45‰; a range associated with low grade metamorphic crustal sources indicating that the source of the economic 4He and associated N2 in shallow reservoirs is likely derived from variable isotopic mixing between the basement and overlying sediments. From these studies it was also ascertained that in all fields the mechanism for 4He and associated N2 degassing into reservoirs appears to be related in some degree to groundwater and to the saturation threshold of 4He-associated N2 thereby defining possible secondary migration pathways for the helium system. New noble gas data from thermal springs in the West and East branches of the Tanzanian section of the EARS show 4He concentrations of up to 10.5% indicating the active release or primary migration of high helium and high N2 gases in the region. This coupled with potential traps in the nearby Rukwa Basin could provide a high helium reservoir in the future. First estimates for the basin, derived from 4He analyses (< 4% 4He) combined with seismic and soil gas surveys for the basin translate to a P50 estimate of probable reserves of 98 Bcf which would be enough to supply the current global helium demand for ~14 years if current demand remains steady.

Statistical research can be more difficult to plan than other kinds of projects, since the research must adapt as knowledge is gained. This dissertation establishes a formal language and methodology for designing experimental research strategies with limited resources. It is a mathematically rigorous extension of a sequential and adaptive form of statistical research called response surface methodology. It uses sponsor-given information, conditions, and resource constraints to decompose an overall project into individual stages. At each stage, a "parent" decision-maker determines what design of experimentation to do for its stage of research, and adapts to the feedback from that research's potential "children", each of whom deal with a different possible state of knowledge resulting from the experimentation of the "parent". The research of this dissertation extends the real-world rigor of the statistical field of design of experiments to develop an deterministic, adaptive algorithm that produces deterministically generated, reproducible, testable, defendable, adaptive, resource-constrained multi-stage experimental schedules without having to spend physical resource.

Many different approaches have been proposed with the aim of facilitating sound and successful information management (IM) and knowledge management (KM) practices within business contexts. These approaches seek to identify organizational factors (e.g. culture or information technology practices) or to suggest management processes (e.g. human resources management) required to establish environments conducive to IM and KM. Most of these approaches, often presented as frameworks (as they are referred to in this study) for organizational IM or KM, are exemplified by the following features.Firstly, they have emerged as unrelated notions, with little reference to each other or to foundational studies in the area. Secondly these frameworks are not based on any theoretical foundation. Thirdly, these frameworks have tended to focus on either information or knowledge management activities but not both, even though organizational IM and KM exist in a complementary and co-dependent relationship. The usefulness of these frameworks is made problematic by muddled use of the terms 'information', 'knowledge', 'IM' and 'KM', which are often transposed or used synonymously. The situation is further complicated by the inherent complexity of the organizational environments into which practitioners attempt to introduce information and knowledge management (IKM) initiatives. Early outputs of this research are explanations of how the terminology above is used in this study and a literature review that describes current IM and KM frameworks by analyzing their components. The literature review identifies current challenges in the research domain, including the need for sound foundation (referent model) on which future IKM frameworks can be based. A suitable referent model is proposed by integrating single and double feedback loops (from systems theory) with two concepts from the IM literature: IM processes and the domains of IM activity. Then, an interpretive multi-methodological research (MMR) approach is pursued consisting of three sequential phases: action research, transition and case study. The first phase, a 3-cycle action research project accompanied by a longitudinal descriptive case study and an embedded literature analysis, was conducted over a 31 month period. The key research outcome of the action research phase was a set of candidate enablers Information and Knowledge Management (IKM) in Business Contexts for organizational IKM, while the organizational deliverables included policies, strategies, process improvement and new information systems. The information gathered in phase one was rich and deep. However, in keeping with the goal of the research to produce a practical, useful IKM framework, the researcher sought a broader view from the IKM community. To achieve this practitioner view, a second research phase was designed to bridge the gap between the detailed examinations of IKM initiatives within one organizational environment, to the examination of IKM initiatives within other organizations. Therefore phase two - a transition phase - consisted of a series of surveys and interviews with IKM practitioners that explored their perceptions of organizational IKM activities and environments. The data collected in phase two supported the findings from phase one and informed the development of the case protocols for the third - case study - phase. In the third phase, six IKM projects in three organizations were studied. Documentary and interview data were examined to understand the relationships between IKM projects, the candidate enablers identified earlier in phases one and two, and other organizational factors implicated in IKM initiatives. When analyzed, the findings from the third phase converged with the data collected in the previous two phases, and provided a rich, deep and broad collection of material. The study culminates by synthesizing the data collected in the three research phases to (1) confirm a suitable referent model on which IKM frameworks can be based and (2) develop an integrated, multidimensional IKM framework that assimilates the referent model. The referent model, which is based on previous calls for IKM frameworks to have a sound theoretical foundation, incorporates two established concepts from the IKM literature: (a) the operational, analytical and strategic domains of IKM activity and (b) double and single loop feedback loops of systems thinking applied to IKM processes. The practical and flexible IKM framework, which assimilates these concepts, has three dimensions. These dimensions are (i) domains of IKM activity and feedback loops (ii) organizational enablers (iii) project context. It is envisaged that this framework be used by practitioners to identify and manage areas of the business environment that require attention to ensure success of IKM projects or initiatives.

In this paper, I investigate the use of SWOT analysis and the resource based view as tools to elaborate a business plan and in academic research by assessing the two methods’ strengths and weaknesses.   I found that SWOT analysis is useful to structure and prioritise information in a short and concise way. Even though, the information and the information collection methods as well as the concepts and theories used in combinaton with the model and their quality is of the most importance for a proper use of the model.   The resource based view is useful to reflect over which internal resources are the most valuable for the company, even though it can be difficult to assess the most important assets, i.e. the intangible assets. I also found that the fact that the resource based view, which is a explanantory theory, is used as a predicative theory causes uncertainaty and is problematic.

This study was designed to identify correlates of success in Supported Employment(SE) programs for persons with psychiatric disabilities. Indiana policy-makers are seriously considering a managed care, or "capitated," system of payment to make SE provider programs more efficient economically. However, many agencies are concerned about providing services to more severely impaired individuals because of the potentially higher costs of serving these individuals. Two studies are included in this project. The goals of the first study were to identify SE consumer (clinical) characteristics that predict (1) successful outcomes, defined as whether the consumer achieves gainful work, and (2) program costs, defined as the amounts of SE service hours utilized by consumers who obtain work. In two large samples of SE consumers with serious mental illness, no clinical characteristics (e.g., diagnosis, rated functioning, hospitalization history) were associated with vocational outcome or service costs. The goal of the second study was to describe the types and amounts of services utilized by SE consumers who obtain work. Specific service categories associated with obtaining work were travel, training, and advocacy that was unrelated to the consumer's job. The implications of these findings are discussed in the framework of the debate over clinical versus empirical prediction. The need for a theoretical model of SE services that allows the use of predictive clinical and consumer driven services is also discussed.
Department of Journalism

Degradation of rangeland resources leading to the desertification process is viewed in terms of human and climatic influences. While climatic impacts are important, resource utilization as practiced by man is the major cause of desertification. A multi-objective .decision methodology is developed here which is intended for the analysis of alternative management plans of rangeland watersheds under climatic variability. First, a system model is employed to portray the dynamics of a rangeland as it would respond to climatic changes and different grazing intensities. This approach allows for an interaction of inputs such as rainfall, solar radiation, and temperature with the state of the system which is a range condition index, and with outputs such as production and sediment yield. A simulation package is developed to implement the system model by actually using available data and providing some output values for production and sediment yield. At this stage a number of alternative management plans are identified. The information obtained from the simulation as well as other information of interest are represented by performance criteria, leading to an array of alternative versus criteria. Then, management plans need to be evaluated as they would impact the criteria. A multiobjective decision making technique is selected to perform the analysis for an identification of prefered management alternatives.