Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'System Development'

Thesis (M.S. in Information Systems)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 1992.
Thesis Advisor: Nakagawa, Gordon. "March 1992." Description based on title screen as viewed on March 4, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 66).

This thesis is concerned with a research project conducted with a Swedish company to provide recommendations for developing a prototypical information system for the company. The system’s goal was to consolidate data regarding the company’s supply chain and packaging conditions in order to find improvements in packaging development. The thesis employed the use of Soft Systems Methodology to aid with the system development process. A qualitative explorative study was designed for this purpose. Soft Systems Methodology was used after exploring alternative methodologies. This was chosen as the researchers found it important to engage the case company in the system development process. Four semi-structured interviews and two workshops with the relevant officials were the main methods of collecting data. Models such as a rich picture, CATWOE and PQR formula were utilized during the research to visualize important aspects of the system development process. As a result of the research, the researchers were able to provide the company with recommendations for how to further proceed with the development process. Another result of the study was that Soft Systems Methodology was able to unlock tacit information. The methodology also allowed for a consideration of the implementation of an iterative process to support the development. The results of this research suggest that introducing and making use of Soft Systems Methodology is very stimulating in an environment not already using it. The research provided insights needed for progress towards a successful implementation of a new information system, and contributes a real-world SSM case in a corporate environment. The researchers also suggest future opportunities for research that could further build on the work presented in the thesis.

With Chiptech’s current growth rate and size it has become necessary to develop a Quality Management System to enable repeatability, meet customer demands, and protect Chiptech from staff turnover. ISO 9001 was identified as a base for development, with the imperative that the system identified and developed must deliver value for Chiptech. Several frameworks were investigated, along with journal articles and discussions with industry members in order to determine the aspects that would deliver value, and determine the key success factors. Two factors were identified as critical: employee involvement, and the utilisation of metrics – both of which were leveraged for the project results and recommendations. The systems developed have already proved they offer benefits, however, in order to maintain performance Chiptech must a) keep evaluating the measured results, b) ensure that quality forms an integral part of the organisational culture and, c) continue the systematic approach of continual improvement.

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2005.
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Includes bibliographical references (leaf 65).
The Airborne Seeker Test Bed (ASTB) is an airborne sensor testing platform operated by the Tactical Defense Systems group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. The Instrumentation Head (IH) is a primary sensor on the ASTB. It is a passive X-band radar receiver located on the nose of the plane. The IH serves as a truth sensor for other RF systems on the test bed and is controlled by an onboard tracking system, the Seeker Computer. The Seeker Computer processes IH data in real-time to track targets in Doppler, angle, and range. From these tracks it then produces angle-error feedback signals that command the IH gimbals, keeping targets centered along the antenna boresight. Over three years, a new Seeker Computer was built to replace an old system constrained by obsolete hardware. The redevelopment project was a team effort and this thesis presents a systems-level analysis of the design process, the new Seeker Computer system, and the related team and individual contributions to software and digital signal processing research that took place during development.
by Yue Hann Chin.
M.Eng.

While there is a growing recognition of the importance of System of Systems (SoS), there is still little agreement on just what they are or on by what principles they should be constructed. Actually, there are numerous SoS definitions in the literature. The difficulty in specifying what are the constituent systems, what they are supposed to do, and how they are going to do it frequently lead SoS initiatives to complete failures. Guided by a sample SoS that comprises all the distinguishing SoS characteristics and a generic SoS Engineering (SoSE) process, this thesis explores the SoS development from different Software Engineering (SE) perspectives that include requirements, analysis, design, and reengineering. For the Requirements Engineering (RE), we propose a scene-based RE approach to describe the SoS progressively as an arrangement of elementary but meaningful related behaviors named scenes. The objective is making easier the description and the understanding of the SoS dynamism. For the analysis, we propose extensions to statecharts to visually improve the modeling of systems interactions. They are symbolic notations that result from an analogy with multi-layer Printed Circuit Boards (PCB). The resulting diagrams are named PCBstatecharts. For the design, we propose an extension to the conventional SPLE process in such a way that SPL can become a natural source of SoS members. Domain engineering is extended to deliver components able to share abilities in SoS environments. Then, application engineers can design families of products that comply with different SoS requirements and still improve their products using the abilities of other SoS members. For the reengineering, we propose an approach extension to evolve legacy systems to SPL and then to SoS members. We demonstrate that when legacy systems are reengineered properly, they can share useful abilities, work cooperatively, and compose SoS
Apesar do crescente reconheciimento da importância de Sistemas de Sistemas (SoS) ainda não há um consenso sobre o que eles são um para que princípios devem ser construídos. De fato, existem várias definições de SoS na literatura. A dificuldade de especificar quais são os sistemas constituintes, as suas tarefas e como eles irão realizá-las frequentemente conduzem iniciativas de SoS ao completo fracasso. Guiados por um exemplo que inclui todas as características distintas de um SoS e um processo genérico de engenharia de SoS (SoSE), esta tese explora o desenvolvimento de SoS a partir de diferentes perspectivas da engenharia de software (SE), que incluem requisitos, análise, projeto e reengenharia. Para a engenharia de requisitos (RE) é proposta uma abordagem para descrever progressivamente um SoS como um arranjo de comportamentos mais simples, porém significativos, denominados \'cenas\'. O objetivo é facilitar a descrição e o entendimento do SoS e seu dinamismo. Para a análise, propõe-se as extensões de statecharts para melhorar a modelagem das interações entre sistemas. Elas são notações simbólicas que resultam de uma analogia com placas de circuito impresso multi camadas (PCB). Os diagramas resultantes são denominados PCB-statecharts. Para o projeto, é proposta uma extensão para o processo convencional de engenharia de linha de produtos (SPLE), de tal forma que linhas de produto (SPL) possam se tornar uma fonte natural de membros para SoS. A engenharia de domínio é estendida para prover componentes capazes de compartilhar habilidades em ambientes de SoS. Desta forma, engenheiros de aplicação podem projetar famílias de produtos complacentes com diferentes requisitos de SoS e ainda melhorar seus produtos usando habilidades de outros membros de um SoS. Para a reengenharia propõe-se extensão de uma abordagem existente para evoluir legados para SPL e depois para membros de um SoS. O objetivo é demonstrar que quando sistemas legados são tratados apropriadamente, eles podem compartilhar habilidades úteis, trabalhar de maneira cooperativa e compor SoS

Thesis (M.S. in Systems Engineering)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2008.
Thesis Advisor(s): Paulo, Eugene. "September 2008." Description based on title screen as viewed on October 31, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-64). Also available in print.

Thesis (S.M. in System Design and Management)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, System Design and Management Program, 2010.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references.
Product Development consists of activities to transforms a market opportunity and technological innovation into successful products. Several waves of improvements in technological innovation and product development have already substantially enhanced companies' ability to deliver differentiated products to markets faster, more efficiently, and with higher quality. However, the degree of success achieved has varied greatly between companies and even among units within individual companies. Determining important processes in the product development and their relationships with organizational and project performance are crucial to sustainable success in product development. Studying these relationships would give us insights into the product development dynamics. The objectives of this research are to determine important product development processes and their relationship with each other and organizational capabilities. To achieve the objectives of this research, a step-based approach was adopted. First, understand relationship between processes and firm's actual financials such as Sales, R&D Expenditure, and COGS. Second, identify relationship between processes and self-reported performance on Financials, Operational Effectiveness, Product Performance, and Customer Satisfaction. Third, identify relationship among different performance parameters to unearth indirect impact of processes on performance. In each step, processes were studied at three levels. Processes were combined based on our classification and the way they statistically cluster. Research used Linear Regression Analysis, ANOVA Analysis, Principal Component Analysis, and Cluster Analysis. Fourth, test four hypotheses based on statistics. The work in this thesis illustrates how various product development practices may influence performance measures of organization. While we focused on companies in the Automotive, Hi-Tech and Medical-device industries, I believe that product makers of all stripes could benefit from this work.
by Nisheeth Gupta.
S.M.in System Design and Management

This thesis presents the development and validation of a novel interface modelling methodology integrated with a system architectural analysis framework that emphasises the need to manage the integrity of deriving and allocating requirements across multiple levels of abstraction in a structured manner. The state of the art review in this research shows that there is no shared or complete interface definition model that could integrate diverse interaction viewpoints for defining system requirements with complete information. Furthermore, while existing system modelling approaches define system architecture with functions and their allocation to subsystems to meet system requirements, they do not robustly address the importance of considering well-defined interfaces in an integrated manner at each level of systems hierarchy. This results in decomposition and integration issues across the multiple levels of systems hierarchy. Therefore, this thesis develops and validates following: -Interface Analysis Template as a systematic tool that integrates diverse interaction viewpoints for modelling system interfaces with intensive information for deriving requirements. -Coupling Matrix as an architecture analysis framework that not only allocates functions to subsystems to meet requirements but also promotes consistent consideration of well-defined interfaces at each level of design hierarchy. Insights from the validation of developed approach with engineering case studies within an automotive OEM are discussed, reflecting on the effectiveness, efficiency and usability of the methods.

This thesis presents a framework for formal system development. The framework is called `RD' which is short for `Reasoning about Designs'. RD integrates proof, development and diagnostic modes of reasoning. Many commonly studied formalisms are shown to be consistent with this framework. A large example based on an industrial problem is given to demonstrate RD. The integration of system design and management is achieved by unifying formal software engineering methods and model-based reasoning. RD formally specifies a complete toolkit for performing system development and then re-using the development as the system description for diagnostic reasoning. RD does not restrict the contributing system analysis methods, rather it maps out and defines the entities and relations common to both. The framework is, in principle, extensible to support other forms of reasoning. The ground technical mechanism of the framework is a novel view of formal system development based on a general implementation relation. Implementation relations are widely studied in formal methods in software engineering where they are often referred to as `refinement'. RD allows refinement relations to be defined in a way that makes expected behaviours and faults of system implementations explicit. Furthermore, a case is made that all well known forms of refinement implicitly support diagnostic reasoning as they can be restated within the framework. RD is an integrated and completely rigorous approach to the core system building tasks of design and management. Despite the large amount of technical detail, the following discussion can be seen as raising many issues that relate to engineering in general. In particular, a formal engineering process should have benefits beyond just the delivery of systems that satisfy their specifications.

Protecting modern engineered systems has become increasingly difficult due to their complexity and the difficulty of predicting potential failures. With the added threat of terrorism, the desire to design systems resilient to potential faults has increased. The concept of a resilient system – one that can withstand unanticipated failures without disastrous consequences – provides promise for designing safer systems. Resilience has been recognized in research settings as a desired end product of specific systems, but resilience as a general, inherent, measurable property of systems had yet to be established. To achieve this goal, system resilience was related to an established concept, the resiliency of a material. System resilience was defined as the amount of energy a system can store before reaching a point of instability. The energy input into each system as well as the system’s exergy were used to develop system stress and system strain variables. Process variable changes to four test systems – a steam pipe, a water pipe, a water pump, and a heat exchanger – were applied to obtain series of system stress and system strain data that were then graphed to form characteristic system response curves. Resilience was quantified by performing power-law regression on each curve to determine the variable ranges where the regression line accurately described the data and where the data began to deviate from that power-law trend. Finally, the four test systems were analyzed in depth by combining them into an overall system using the process simulator ASPEN. The ranges predicted by the overall system data were compared to the ranges predicted for the individual equipment. Finally, future work opportunities were outlined to show potential areas for expansion of the methodology.

Improvement work in manufacturing industry usually focuses on the utilisation of equipment. System dynamics simulation is a potential tool for increasing the utilisation of systems. By using group model building and simulation it facilitates a common view and better informed decisions for change. However, a gap between theory and practice of how to implement these projects is identified, consequently the major question for this thesis. The approach for solving this problem used industrial case studies with action research character; including modelling and interviews affecting the actors in the studied systems. Together with literature studies these efforts contribute with identifying how system dynamics projects can be performed for manufacturing systems development. It is shown that the support for how to implement system dynamics projects is unsatisfying and general. During the research progress a framework of guidelines has crystallised in order to bridge the presented gap of this thesis. Finally, the results are considered to make it easier to support manufacturing systems development using system dynamics.

This thesis investigates information systems development with special regard to the area of Geographical Information Systems. It addresses the area through the investigation of the software life-cycle development model and its augmentation by the use of prototyping. Observations are made on empirical experiments conducted to assess the usefulness of the new techniques of hypertext and hypermedia and their suitability within this field of study. This investigation is complemented by a case study, the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Authority. The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads are designated by statute with similar status to the National Parks of Great Britain, and are managed by the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Authority. Through cooperation with the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Authority, a prototype information system was created. This system makes use of geographical data from the Broads Authority. The development stages of this system were used to conduct experiments for this thesis. The tools and techniques used for the development of this system are described. These include a hypertext tool called FIELD (Fully Integrated Environment for Layered Development) which has been especially designed for the complete storage of all information for each stage throughout this development. The use of this tool and hypertext for the development of the geographically based information system for the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Authority are discussed.

It is now a common sense that manufactures including machine suppliers and system integrators of the 21 st century will need to compete on global marketplaces, which are frequently shifting and fragmenting, with new technologies continuously emerging. Future production machines and manufacturing systems need to offer the "agility" required in providing responsiveness to product changes and the ability to reconfigure. The primary aim for this research is to advance studies in machine control system design, in the context of the European project VIR-ENG - "Integrated Design, Simulation and Distributed Control of Agile Modular Machinery".

Information system requirements determination is a key area in management information systems research that includes the problems of requirements specification, requirements elicitation, and user involvement. The combination of these three problems is a research area which we call the group approach to information system requirements determination. The main contribution of this research is a model to be used for the problem of fitting existing computer aids to this research area and a set of methods for solving the usability and configuration problems when using such computer aids. The usability problem is that of determining whether a set of computer aids can be used effectively in accomplishing the task of requirements determination. The configuration problem is that of selecting a minimum collection of funtionalities necessary for economically supporting all aspects of requirements determination. Electronic meeting systems are the general category of computer aids that we are interested in applying to the task. In particular, the GroupSystems electronic meeting system developed at The University of Arizona is used as a case in this research. Characteristics of the requirements determination task and profiles of GroupSystems tools are combined into our model for fitting computer aids to a given task. We then derive the answers regarding the usability and configuration of GroupSystems in the group approach to information system requirements determination. We also compare the derived configurations to the GroupSystems tools used in an authentic case. The main points of this research include: (1) proposal of the concept of fitting computer aids to, instead of developing new computer aids for, a task area; (2) proposal of a model for fitting computer aids via a classification of information types; (3) analysis of the natures of the fitting model and the usability and configuration problems; (4) proposal of approximation methods for solving the configuration problem; (5) analysis of the task area--the group approach to information system requirements determination; (6) analysis of the use of GroupSystems in the task area by applying the proposed fitting model and approximation methods; and (7) demonstration of the usefulness of the fitting model and approximation methods by analyzing an authentic case of using GroupSystems tools.

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2014.
DVD-ROM contains supplemental models: four .mdl files and two .vdf files.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 63-64).
The United States Department of Defense has been plagued with failing programs that are over budget, behind schedule, and exhibit poor performance during testing. Once a program has cost, schedule, or capability issues, follow-on development efforts adopt the underlying issues only to reinforce poor performance. To address these issues that lead to firefighting, one option is to use an Agile software development process to introduce capabilities earlier in the development process for effective testing. Two System Dynamics models compare Agile with the traditional Waterfall development approach to determine: if Agile development reduces the conflict between cost, schedule, and capability constraints; if Agile development reduces firefighting; and will Agile development impact other development tasks. Based on the simulation of each model, Agile did improve the dynamics of parallel development cycles by maximizing the productivity of the entire development team. Under the same System and Software Engineering team size and development release schedule, Agile development increases the quantity of requirements introduced within a development cycle. However, Agile development emphasized less on maturing new technologies leading to considerably less innovative builds. Thesis Supervisor:
by Erik Roberto Garcia.
S.M. in Engineering and Management

Evolutionary algorithms (EAs) are a class of population-based stochastic search algorithms which have proven themselves to be powerful tools in optimization problems where the search space is complex, contains many local optima, and is so large that an exhaustive search is not possible. An application area where EAs have great potential is in the design of electronic circuits. However, for this type of task such a large representation is typically required for each of the proposed solutions that using an EA approach is not feasible because of the immense computational power this would require. This limitation of EAs is known as the scalability problem: EAs perform well when dealing with problems requiring a small solution representation, but when the required size for these representations increases the EAs quickly become too computationally expensive to be useful. Numerous approaches for dealing with the scalability problem have been proposed. One of the more promising approaches is inspired by the way nature copes with scaling: the process of an organism growing from a single fertilized cell and into a multi-cellular being, called development. By adapting some of the mechanisms of development to a computer program, the EA can evolve a relatively small genome which when developed i.e. decompressed, using this program will represent a solution. There are, however, some problems regarding this approach. One issue is that biological development is such a complex process that implementing it in all its detail is neither feasible nor desired, meaning a decision regarding which mechanisms to implement and which ones to leave out must be made. Another issue is the increased difficulty to evolve a good solution. This occurs because EAs depend on a gradual refinement of the solution to be effective, but with this approach a small change in the genome may lead to a large change in the corresponding solution. This is because in this approach there is no longer a direct correspondence between the genotype space and the solution space, so that what is adjacent in the genotype space may be far apart in the solution space. This means that even though gradual refinement is achieved in genotype space, the changes in the corresponding solution space may appear to be more or less random A novel artificial development system, designed and implemented from scratch, is presented in this thesis. A novel system was built because, although a number of other such system already have been implemented, they are all in the experimental stage, and this system is though to be a useful supplement to the existing ones, providing more material to base the understanding of what may be useful in an artificial development system on. An explorative approach was taken where the implemented system was put through a number of tests to investigate its capabilities. First the systems ability to develop a varied set of different shapes was investigated. Secondly, four parameters were tested for their effect on the system's ability to develop good solutions: the initial number of neighbours, the number of chemical types used (both part of a precondition), the number of cell types available to the system, and the degree of symmetry in the target shapes. The experiments performed showed that the system is able to develop a number of shapes. For the four investigated parameters, indications were found that each has a profound effect on the systems ability to develop a given target.

Two main types of formal methods have been investigated, formal specification and formal verification. Focus for formal verification has been on the concept of un-timed model checking. Some dominating formal specification languages, VDM and Z, and some prominent model checkers, FDR, Spin, and LTSA, have been learnt and presented. A tutorial for the formal verification tool Spin is created. The tutorial is example driven and describes the description language Promela and the verification methods available in Spin. Care has been taken to illustrate reasoning about the results from Spin. Topics discussed include the applicability and need for formal methods, the possible need for understanding the underlying theory, and considerations made in regards to creating the tutorial.

Three different culture techniques are exploited in this thesis to investigate thalamocortical development: (i) co-cultures of organotypic explants on a collagen substrate (organotypic cultures have the advantage of maintaining in vivo connectivity in culture). (ii) Isolated cultures of embryonic thalamus on a collagen substrate (enables the independent growth and survival of the thalamus to be monitored). (iii) Dissociated cultures of thalamus combined with time-lapse microscopy (enables the growth of individual thalamic neurones to be monitored). These experiments yielded the following results. (i) Neurotransmitters may be involved in regulating thalamic outgrowth and survival but do not appear to play a crucial role in target selection. A wide range of neurotransmitter antagonists failed to block the ability of E15 thalamic axons to recognise their target cells in cortical layer 4, although several of these antagonists inhibited thalamic outgrowth. (ii) An optimal level of activity appears crucial for generating appropriate signals for thalamic ingrowth and termination within layer 4. (iii) The survival and growth of the late embryonic thalamus can occur without external influences, and this intrinsic control may use an autocrine mechanism that becomes increasingly reliant on neural activity for its maintenance as it ages. After birth this intrinsic control becomes ineffective. (iii) Glutamate can increase survival of the embryonic thalamus in a dose dependent manner although by E19 it has no effect. (iv) Both the NMDA and Kainate/AMPA receptor subtypes appear to be involved in mediating glutamate induced cell survival. (v) Nitric Oxide (NO), a novel neurotransmitter, is present in both the developing thalamus and cortex in vivo and is also expressed within the thalamocortical tracts which connect these two structures. (vi) Growth cones of dissociated embryonic thalamic neurones are also responsive to added NO in vitro providing strong evidence that NO is involved in regulating thalamocortical development.

Technology replaces newer technology with improved efficiency. Solar technology is going to draw out a new life to make a green change in the terms of energy. As a result energy from the sunlight is being changed into electric energy by using solar cell. But still its efficiency could not be able to make a sense as a depending energy technology. In order to look up the solution, solar technology is changing rapidly to get maximum output. To take up this new challenge solar technology is trying to change its building component that are used to make solar cell, for example solar cell material, bypass diode system, blocking diode system etc.   Now-a-days, solar energy system is designed as a hybrid system that can make electricity and hot water at the same time. In the hybrid solar system, photovoltaic and solar thermal systems are integrated at the same system and as a result heat and electricity are produced simultaneously at the same area. Solar cells are attached with both top and the bottom side of the module and the collectors are set up inside the module. By using collector inside the module, rejected heat from the solar cell is absorbed by the water that flows through the collectors. But a problem arises at the midday or after midday because the reflector of this system cannot reflect sunlight properly on the bottom side of the module. That’s why shading is occurred on the bottom side which reduce the total electrical output of this system.   To work out this shading problem, a bypass diode is connected in parallel with the group of solar cells. Schottky diodes are being used as bypass diodes inside in the most of the solar cells. Schottky diode forward voltage drop is almost 0.45 Volt which is an important cause of reducing the output power as well as the efficiency of this hybrid system. To solve this problem, new lossless diode is attached inside the hybrid solar system instead of schottky diode which can work with a very low forward voltage drop roughly 50mV at 10amp.   To make a comparison between the performance of PVT system with the schottky diode and the new lossless diode, many data has been collected from the outdoor test. After getting the output result, it is clear that the output power and efficiency is going to be changed for using the new lossless diode. For using the lossless diode, the efficiency of the bottom side of the module was increased by 0.31 %.

An intensified gasification system consisting of the gasifier reactor and the clean up system was developed for new feed stocks in pilot plant (ea. 50 kWe output). An industrial system (ea. 1 MWe capacity) scaled up from the pilot plant was also constructed and commissioned. PolyHIPE Polymers (PHP) both in laboratory and industrial scale were produced and functionalized/characterized for gas conditioning and water treatment processes associated with the gasifier operation. The gasification process converts any carbon-containing material into a combustible gas composed primarily of carbon monoxide, hydrogen and methane, which can be used as a fuel to generate electricity and heat. Gasification adds value to low or negative feed stocks by converting them to marketable fuels and products Two new feed stocks; bone meal and oil sludge, were gasified in small scale pilot plant gasifier system. The system performance was reliable and there were no major problems in operating the gasifier and performance of the instrumentation during the tests. The most important experimental objective which was to determine the producer gas quality during stabilized continuous runs was successfully achieved. The commissioning of the industrial scale gasifier system was completed during the course of this research. The initial results of commissioning tests which were performed by using wood chips, bone meal and municipal solid waste (MSW) are accounted in this study. The pre-treatment of these feed stock materials were studied as well as gasification characteristics. The main focus of commissioning runs was to evaluate the performance and efficiency of process instrumentation and determine the problems associated with the gasification and pre-treatment systems. The commissioning runs were successful in terms of achieving these main goals. The experiences transferred from the small scale gasification experiments were crucial in understanding and solving the problems associated with the system. The gas qualities from both scale of operation were very similar. 11 Production, modification and demonstration of the potential of polyHIPE polymers as an effective medium for water and gas treatment were also aimed in this study. It was shown that the functionalization of PolyHIPE Polymers could be intensified and the technique resulted in the formation of a new class of nano-structured micro-porous polymers with enhanced surface area and micro and nano-connectivity of the pores. Modification of the chemical and structural characteristics of the PHP was achieved by two novel methods of sulphonation which were developed by intensifying the principles of conventional techniques. Prior to sulphonation PHP demonstrates hydrophobic characteristics, where after sulphonation a hydrophilic form is produced. Sulphonated PHP can act as an ion exchange module and is capable of adsorbing species from a solution or a waste stream. The capability of the PHP as an efficient ion exchange module has been demonstrated by using a nickel solution as the model. The potential of the PHP as a filtering media was also realised by the results obtained in tests conducted with the waste scrubber water from the gasification system. Hydrophilicity is required if dehumidification of the gas streams are desired. The polymers containing 2-vinyl pyridine which were developed by the Process Intensification and Miniaturisation (PIM) Group in the University of Newcastle, already exhibits hydrophilic characteristics and do not require and modification. These polymers were tested for gas purification in a packed column. Production of these polymers in industrial scale was also accomplished. The ultimate aim of the research was to develop an intensified gasification system which employs PHP for both gas purification and water treatment. Gasification operation was successfully demonstrated in both small and industrial scale, as well as the demonstration of the potential of PHP in gas and water treatment processes in bench scale.

The aim of this work was to develop sensory devices and data acquisition system to facilitate investigations into the mechanics of the rowing system, comprising the rower(s), boat and oars. As such, the parameters to be measured were: boat and seat position, velocity and acceleration; oar force; foot force; oar angle and rower heart rate. An oar force sensor was designed that fitted into the cavity of a modified oarlock. This sensor design is cheap, yields sound results and its presence is almost not noticeable to the rower. A review of previously applied methods of oar force measurement, predating 1900, is included. Foot force is of interest to many different fields of research, thus there is a large amount of literature on the subject of foot force measurement. A comprehensive review of this literature is used to aid in the design of the required sensor. The combination of a non-simple dynamic loading (i.e. time varying spatially distributed normal and shear forces), with static foot position distinguishes the problem of measuring the force under the feet during rowing from most previously considered cases. A strain gauge-based force sensing plate was designed to measure both normal force distribution and unidirectional shear force under the feet. Sample results are presented from a study with international class New Zealand rowers on a rowing ergometer. The sensor, performs well under normal force loadings, but needs modification to measure shear accurately. Possible modifications are suggested. While only a single oar angle, known as the sweep angle, was required to be measured, a sensor combination capable of measuring the spatial orientation of the oar relative to the boat was conceived. A new method of relative orientation estimation, via approximation of the Rodrigues' vector, which allows relative weighting of sensory data, was derived. Unfortunately, calibration issues prevented the gathering of meaningful data in the time available. A full theoretical development, including a new calibration scheme, which should alleviate the encountered problems, is included. While the motion of the rower within the boat is an important consideration in the dynamics of the rowing system, few previous researchers have measured it. These previous methods are briefly described, before the sensor used in this study, the optical rotary encoder, is detailed. Differentiation of the encoder signal to obtain seat velocity and acceleration relative to the boat was achieved using a purpose designed simple Kalman filter. The kinematic parameters of the boat, i.e. position, velocity and acceleration were measured using a combination of accelerometer and submerged impeller. The information from these two sensors was combined using a variant of the Kalman filter used in the differentiation of the encoder signal. The combination of the seat and boat kinematics allows study of the motion of the system centre of mass. Supplying power to, and collecting data from the above sensory devices was a purpose built data acquisition system dubbed ORAC (On-the-water Rowing Acquisition Computer). ORAC was designed to transmit the collected information, in real-time, to a remote laptop computer via wireless LAN, but the system used proved to have insufficient range, and hence ORAC was used as a standalone computer.

The subject chosen to develop this thesis project on is developing an algorithm or methodology for system selection. The specific problem studied involves a procedure to determine anion computer system alternative is the best choice for a given user situation.The general problem to be addressed is the need for one to choose computing hardware, software, systems, or services in a -Logical approach from a user perspective, considering cost, performance and human factors. Most existing methods consider only cost and performance factors, combining these factors in ad hoc, subjective fashions to react: a selection decision. By not considering factors treat measure effectiveness and functionality of computer services for a user, existing methods ignore some of the most important measures of value to the user.In this work, a systematic and comprehensive approach to computer system selection has been developed. Also developed were methods for selecting and organizing various criteria.Also ways to assess the importance and value of different service attributes to a end-user are discussed.Finally, the feasibility of a systematic approach to computer system selection has been proven by establishing a general methodology and by proving it through a demonstration of a specific application.

The generation and control of linearly and circularly polarized light in the far ultraviolet (FUV) and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectral regions are required in different frontiers research and technological areas ranging from material science, where the nature of the beam plays a fundamental role in the light-matter interaction, to optical components developments including devices for manipulation of the light polarization state. This has pushed researchers to examine and outline new optical elements as optical polarizers and quarter-wave retarders (QWRs) specifically designed for this spectral range and thought to be used in proper optical arrangements in order to provide valuable information about physical and optical properties of materials and optical coatings. In this thesis, we present an EUV reflectometer facility located in the Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies-CNR Padua (Italy) which was implemented for polarimetric measurements within a suitably wide spectral range (90-160 nm) where some important spectral emission lines are, as the hydrogen Lyman alpha 121.6 and Oxygen VI (103.2 nm) lines. The development part focuses on the design and fabrication of an optical linear polarizer based on four reflection gold-coated mirrors to be inserted in the EUV reflectometer optical path. In this way, the facility can be used as an EUV spectroscopic ellipsometric system. The robustness of the methodology and the system were tested to characterize the optical and structural properties of a single layer aluminum mirror as quarter wave retarder (QWR) by deriving its amplitude component tanψ=r_p/r_s and phase difference δ. The second part of the thesis comes from the desire to explore new optical materials employed as a capping layer for optical coatings in the far ultraviolet (FUV) and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectral regions. The materials are mostly absorptive in these spectral regions, thus the availability of high-performance optical coatings for the short wavelengths is quite restricted for this reason. In this part, we present a phase retarder optical component based on SnTe/Al bilayer covering the spectral range between 80 nm and 160 nm. The measurements have been performed using an EUV reflectometer facility improved for ellipsometric measurements. The specimen has been fully characterized at hydrogen Lyman–alpha line (121.6 nm) in terms of reflectance and ellipsometric parameters, i.e. the ratio r, ratio of the Fresnel coefficient, and the phase difference δ introduced between the -s and -p reflected components. To our knowledge, such structure based on SnTe haven’t been studied as capping layer for a wide spectral range in the vacuum ultraviolet, although the throughputs are not those expected for this structure. The drop-in performances are attributed to the carbon contamination on the sample surface identified by additional reflectance measurements at 160 nm wavelength. The results also confirm the potentialities and the advantages of such non-invasive optical approach. Lastly, the whole system consisting of the reflectometer and the polarizer could be particularly useful as diagnostic tools in EUV ellipsometry field. The system can be a relatively simple complement to large-scale facilities and can be applied to test optical components by deriving their efficiency, determining the Mueller Matrix terms, and even to the analysis of optical surface and interface properties of thin films. In addition, the QWRs developed in this framework could be used in other experimental applications for generating EUV radiation beams of suitable polarization, for characterizing and controlling the polarization state of EUV radiation beams and to be inserted in an ellipsometric scheme in order to characterize optical devices.
La generazione e il controllo di luce polarizzata linearmente e circolarmente nell’ ultravioletto da vuoto (VUV) e nell’estremo ultravioletto (EUV) è argomento di grande interesse in diversi ambiti tecnologici e di ricerca, che riguardano la fisica solare, la scienza dei materiali e lo sviluppo di componenti ottici, inclusi dispositivi per la manipolazione dello stato di polarizzazione della luce. Questo ha spinto i ricercatori ad esaminare e disegnare ritardatori di fase, polarizzatori e lamine al quarto d’onda, specificamente progettati per questa regione spettrale e pensati per essere usati in diverse configurazioni ellissometriche al fine di fornire preziose informazioni sulle proprietà fisiche e ottiche di materiali e rivestimenti ottici. In questa tesi, presentiamo l’implementazione di un riflettometro EUV, già presente presso l'Istituto di fotonica e Nanotecnologie-CNR di Padova (Italia), recentemente implementato e testato per misure polarimetriche in una banda spettrale ampia, compresa tra i 90 e i 160 nm, di grande interesse per la fisica solare. La prima parte del lavoro descrive lo sviluppo, la progettazione e la fabbricazione di un polarizzatore lineare ottico costituito da quattro specchi in oro opportunamente assemblati. Il dispositivo è stato accoppiato al riflettometro EUV in modo da permettere l’utilizzo dell’intero sistema per analisi ellissometriche nell’EUV. La robustezza della metodologia sperimentale è stata poi validata per caratterizzare le proprietà ottiche e strutturali di uno specchio di alluminio mono-strato proposto come lamina al quarto d’onda broadband. Per questo specchio, sono stati derivati i due parametri ellissometrici caratteristici tanψ=r_p/r_s e δ, la differenza di fase. La seconda parte della tesi tratta, invece, lo sviluppo e la progettazione di lamine al quarto d’onda broadband innovative. Le attività nell'ambito di questo argomento includono la ricerca di nuovi materiali, la simulazione numerica e la caratterizzazione. A tale scopo, sono state studiate le proprietà di una lamina al quarto d’onda basata su SnTe/Al, per la quale il SnTe è stato utilizzato come strato protettivo al fine di migliorare la stabilità e l'efficienza, contro l’ossidazione e la contaminazione proprie dell’alluminio. Il campione è stato caratterizzato attraverso misure di tipo polarimetrico e di riflettanza. Le lamine al quarto d’onda sviluppate in questo contesto potrebbero essere utilizzate in altre applicazioni sperimentali per la generazione, la caratterizzazione e il controllo di luce polarizzata nell’ EUV. L'intero strumento, composto dal riflettometro e dal polarizzatore, è a tutti gli effetti un sistema ellissometrico nell’ EUV. Lo si propone in maniera complementare a large scale facility per testare componenti ottici disegnati per l’EUV, per lo studio di coating e di interfacce di film sottili.

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2014.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 46-50).
The automotive industry is characterized by the early adoption of technology into their products. In recent years, the automotive industry has developed infotainment systems that encompass navigation, digital media, phone calls, safety and other elements. These infotainment systems are based on componentry similar to smartphones or tablet computers. In contrast to tablet computers, the automotive infotainment systems have followed the typical automotive product development pace, leaving the automotive infotainment systems with outdated hardware and software when compared to the consumer electronic industry. The automotive industry follow a model year cycle while consumer electronics quickly adapt to consumer demand with many releases over a single calendar year. The objective of this thesis is to present a new architecture specific to In-vehicle infotainment systems; providing a faster componentry adoption and faster software updates.
by Alejandro Pinto.
S.M. in Engineering and Management

As a discipline, information systems (IS) has struggled with the challenge of alignment of product (primarily software and the infrastructure needed to run it) with the needs of the organization it supports. This has been characterized as the pursuit of alignment of information technology (IT) with the business or organization, which begins with the gathering of the requirements of the organization, which then guide the creation of the IS requirements, which in turn guide the creation of the IT solution itself. This research is primarily focused on developing and validating an instrument to operationalize such requirements capabilities. Requirements capabilities at the development of software or the implementation of a specific IT solution are referred to as capabilities for software requirements or more commonly systems analysis and design (SA&D) capabilities. This research describes and validates an instrument for SA&D capabilities for content validity, construct validity, internal consistency, and an exploratory factor analysis. SA&D capabilities were expected to coalesce strongly around a single dimension. Yet in validating the SA&D capabilities instrument, it became apparent that SA&D capabilities are not the unidimensional construct traditionally perceived. Instead it appears that four dimensions underlie SA&D capabilities, and these are associated with alignment maturity (governance, partnership, communications, and value). These sub factors of requirements capabilities are described in this research and represent distinct capabilities critical to the successful alignment of IT with the business.

In order for power system operators (such as TRANSCO) to maintain and operatethe transmission grid in a safe, secure and effcient way, automatic tools such asSCADA systems is necessary to meet demand at all times. The main purpose of thisthesis was to develop a software/prototype at the load despatch centre at TRANSCOwith the ability to monitor and communicate with power plants. The software issupposed to work in a real-time electronic market. The power plant operators candeclare their availability and capability parameters of their generating and producingunits to TRANSCO and LDC operators can send load despatch instructions to thepower plants (such as load changes and other ancillary instructions). The prototypealso has a compliance monitoring application that validates unit outputs againstdespatched instructions. If the output is outside a specific interval, a transgressionwarning is sent to the power plant informing them that they should adjust their unitoutput against the target load. If further transgression is continued, the operator atLDC can re-declare the units availability on the power plants behalf and issue a newload despatch instruction to the unit. The re-declared availability level will be valid allthe way back to when the unit issued the last availability declaration.The software was successfully developed and could perform all tasks that it wassupposed to in a satisfactory way. In order to make the development as sufficient andeffective as possible, a "dummy" power plant was created and was used to simulateunit outputs and plant operator behaviour. As the time was too short, the SCADAintegration was never investigated and was left to whom is taken over after this thesishas ended.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 30-November 02, 1995 / Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada
Object Oriented techniques have been successfully applied to all phases of software development including Requirements Analysis, Design, and Implementation. There has been some reluctance to extend the Object paradigm into the System Analysis, Architecture Development, and System Design phases. This is due to reasons generally related to technology immaturity and concerns with applicability. Telemetry systems in particular appear to be somewhat slow in embracing object technology. The Range Standardization and Automation program has integrated proven techniques to successfully produce an Object-oriented Systems Model. This paper presents the techniques and benefits.

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, System Design and Management Program, 2013.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 75-77).
Technology development is hard for management to understand and hard for practitioners to explain, however it is an essential component of innovation. While there are standard and predictable processes for product development, many of these techniques don't apply well to technology development. Are there common processes for technology development that can make it predictable, or is it unpredictable like basic research and invention? In this thesis, after building a foundation by looking at product development processes, I survey some of the literature on technology development processes and compare them to a handful of case studies from a variety of industries. I then summarize the observations from the cases and build a generic model for technology development that can be used to provide insights into how to monitor and manage technology projects. One of the observations from the product development literature is that looping and iteration is problematic for establishing accurate schedules which becomes one of the fundamental disconnects between management and engineering. Technologists rely heavily on iteration as a tool for gaining knowledge and combined with other risks, technology development may appear "out of control". To mitigate these risks, technologists have developed a variety of approaches including: building a series of prototypes of increasing fidelity and using them as a form of communication, simultaneously developing multiple technologies as a hedge against failure or predicting and developing technologies they think will be needed outside of formal channels. Finally, I use my model to provide some insights as to how management can understand technology development projects. This gives technologists and non-technical managers a common ground for communication.
by W. Andrew Oswald.
S.M. in Engineering and Management

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, System Design and Management Program, 2014.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 85-86).
Product design and development is a complex process that involves extensive engineering considerations as well as management decisions based on the overall vision for the product. Traditionally, most decision making in product development is experienced based and intuitive. With increased scrutiny on cost and a need for greater speed to market, product development processes have been continuously streamlined to become more efficient. Therefore, firms are now required to carefully plan and allocate their resources to effectively respond to market needs. In this thesis, illustrated using a case study of a Nespresso coffee product line, a framework is presented to capture and analyze the financial factors relating to the profitability of a product development project. The methodology can assist product managers better understand the financial aspects of product development and help make more effective and objective project decisions. It can also help companies manage their product portfolio decision making process and prepare for new opportunities.
by Anitha Balasubramaniam.
S.M. in Engineering and Management

Agile software development challenges the traditional way of software development and project management. In rapidly changing environments, changing requirements and tight schedule constraints require software developers to take a different approach toward the process of software development. However, beyond a few case studies, surveys and studies focused on specific practices such as pair programming, the effectiveness and applicability of agile methods have not been established adequately. The objective of my research is to improve the understanding of and gain insights into these issues. For this purpose, I develop a system dynamic simulation model that considers the complex interdependencies among the variety of practices used in agile development. The model is developed on the basis of an extensive review of the literature as well as quantitative and qualitative data collected from real projects in seven organizations. The development of the model was guided by dynamic hypotheses on customer involvement, refactoring and quality of design. The model was refined and validated using data from independent projects. The model helps in answering important questions on the impact of customer behavior, cost of making changes and economics of pair programming. Experimentation with the model suggests that the cost of change is not constant; instead, its value changes cyclically and increases towards the later phase of development. Also, the results of simulation show that with no pair programming, fewer tasks are delivered and it costs more to deliver a task when compared to development with pair programming. Further, customer behavior has a major impact on project performance. The quality of customer feedback is found to be very critical to the successful of an agile software development project. The primary contribution of this research is the simulation model of agile software development that can be used a tool to examine the impact of agile practices and management policies on critical project variables including project scope, schedule, and cost. This research provides a mechanism to study agile development as a dynamic system of practices rather than using a static view and in isolation. The results from this study are expected to be of significant interest to practitioners of agile methods by providing them a simulation environment to examine the impact of their practices, procedures and management policies.

System architecture analyses of distributed ship systems offer a practical view of system behavior over all operational states; however, the effectiveness of these analyses can be bound by limited computational performance or capability. Deactivation diagrams provide an alternative view to conventional system architecture descriptions, allowing for rapid analysis of system connectivity and flow based on precomputed single-state system descriptions. This thesis explores the development of system deactivation diagrams and their use in early-stage naval ship system design. Software tools developed in C++ and VBA as part of this research support the Virginia Tech (VT) Naval Ship Design Concept and Requirements Exploration (CandRE) process and tools utilizing the U.S. Navy's Leading-Edge Architecture for Prototyping Systems (LEAPS) framework database. These tools incorporate automated path-finding algorithms developed based on proven network theory and effective computational methods for use in performing ship system deactivation analysis. Data drawn from the results of this approach possess extensible applicability towards studies in naval ship system vulnerability, flow optimization, network architecture, and other system analyses. Supplementary work on interfacing the LEAPS framework libraries with deactivation analyses has demonstrated the capability for generating deactivation diagrams from complex LEAPS ship system databases and paved the way for future incorporation of LEAPS into research work at Virginia Tech.
Master of Science
As the development of new ships becomes more technically complex due to the increased incorporation of redundant and interdependent ship systems, there is a greater need for advanced tools to support future ship system design. Ship operational capabilities rely on the resiliency of onboard systems in all situations, included damaged conditions, and require comprehensive design evaluation to identify weaknesses in system concepts. This thesis details the development of a computational approach to ship system analysis using precomputed deactivation diagrams for early-stage naval ship system design. Deactivation diagrams are a unique way of looking at the interconnectivity of system components and offer a consolidated view of complex network architecture to significantly simplify and accelerate subsequent analyses. Developments in computational algorithms for ship system connectivity presented in this thesis aid in the automated development of deactivation diagrams and support system flow and vulnerability analyses with particular regard to ongoing work on the Virginia Tech (VT) Naval Ship Design Concept and Requirements Exploration (C&RE) process. Additional thesis development work referencing the U.S. Navy’s Leading-Edge Architecture for Prototyping Systems (LEAPS) database framework has demonstrated the capability for generating deactivation diagrams from complex LEAPS ship system databases and paved the way for future incorporation of LEAPS into research work at VT.

Thesis (M.S.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 1991.
Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 3184. Abstract precedes thesis as 3 preliminary leaves. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-70).

Model organism studies have been fundamental in understanding evolutionary and developmental biology. However, non-model organisms present opportunities to study unique characteristics and as comparisons to model organisms, leading us toward broader and more relevant perspectives on diversity. The Euphilomedes genus of ostracods is an example of a non-model group with potential for evolutionary and developmental studies. Ostracoda is an ancient, basally branching lineage of Crustaceans with a complete and prodigious fossil record. Despite the group’s promise for evolutionary studies, much remains unknown about the basic biology of this clade. There are a limited number of embryogenesis studies in Ostracoda; here, I study development in Euphilomedes. In Chapter 1, I study the main events in Euphilomedes’ embryology, focusing on cleavage and cell migration. I describe the general embryology of Euphilomedes, and devise a visual staging scheme for their development. Using fluorescent nuclear staining and microscopy, I visualize nuclei in cleavage throughout development of nuclear divisions and migrations during development. The meroblastic cleavage observed in Euphilomedes resembles that of another Myodocopid ostracod, Vargula hilgendorfii. Finally, immunostaining for acetylated-alpha tubulin and phalloidin staining are used to visualize the general anatomy of the embryonic brain. This provides new protocols for visualizing the nervous system, enabling more detailed nervous system studies in the future. In Chapter 2, I explore differential gene expression patterns in the developing eyes of juvenile Euphilomedes. Euphilomedes have sexually dimorphic eye types – males have lateral compound eyes, while females instead have eye rudiments. Previous studies in E. carcharodonta show that genes in the retinal determination and phototransduction gene networks have differential expression in males and females during eye development. In this thesis, we attempt to compare these patterns to expression in a sister species, E. morini.

Abstract

In order to stay competitive in today’s changing business world, companies need to manage

the increased complexity as they evolve. To be able to handle this complexity, many companies

chose to implement an ERP system. Investing in an ERP system is not something that

is made in a trice but is a large investment which together with today’s low-profit margins in

companies makes it essential to keep the costs as low as possible. More than half of the total

cost for an ERP investment is said to be related to costs for the system’s maintenance and

support. Documentation is one of the factors which affect this cost, and if it is not made satisfactorily

it is said to result in a considerable increase of the system’s total cost. This is why

it is important not to overlook the documentation as a part of ERP system development

project.

The purpose with this thesis is to investigate the existing documentation routines in ERP

system development projects at AB Volvo’s subsidiary Volvo IT, in order to find suggestions

of improvement for future projects. In order to fulfill the purpose of the study, we formed a

research question with three sub-questions and through a deep analysis of the empirical material

we presented the answers to these questions as the conclusions of this thesis.

Our study is based on an inductive research approach using a case study to gain deeper and

more helpful qualitative knowledge and data. The empirical data was analyzed using the

template analysis method where we divided the collected data into appropriate categories.

The knowledge created through this study is of exploratory, normative, predictive and categorical

nature.

After having analyzed the results from our case study we found several suggestions of improvements

for Volvo IT to use in future projects. For other companies involved in ERP

system development projects of their own, the conclusions of this thesis will work as valuable

issues to take into consideration for upcoming projects. We have concluded that the

main reason behind lacking quality of documentation in the development projects is not the

unawareness of its importance, but the absence of concrete evidence of high quality documentation’s

positive effects on a system’s total cost. We believe that in order to achieve documentation

of high quality, there needs to be a change of attitude to documentation as a

work task and the task itself must be higher prioritized in the projects. Another important

suggestion is that a control of the conducted documentation’s quality must be done, not only

a control of the existence of the right kind of documents. We are of the opinion that a company

should not allocate resources to create a method of documentation before the importance

of high quality documentation is clarified. Ultimately, we believe that the system development

process should be focused around the customer, because of the more frequent use

of custom made solutions and to help the people in the project to set the right level of abstraction

on the documentation.

Sammanfattning

För att företag ska kunna behålla sin konkurrenskraft i näringslivet, behöver de hela tiden utvecklas.

Men med utveckling kommer en ökad komplexitet som måste hanteras på något

sätt. Många företag väljer då att investera i ett affärssystem (s.k. ERP-system), vilket inte är

något som görs lättvindigt utan är en ansenlig investering. Detta faktum tillsammans med

dagens låga vinstmarginaler i företag gör att det är väsentligt att hålla kostnaderna så låga

som möjligt. Mer än hälften av kostnaderna för ett ERP-system sägs vara relaterat till underhålls-

och supportverksamhet. En av de faktorer som påverkar denna stora kostnad är dokumentationsaktiviteter,

vilken ifall de inte är utförd på rätt sätt kan leda till en ansenlig ökning

av ett systems totala kostnad. Det är därför väldigt viktigt att inte förbise dokumentationen

som en del av ett ERP-systemutvecklingsprojekt.

Syftet med vår studie var att undersöka existerande dokumentationsrutiner i ERPsystemutvecklingsprojekt

hos Volvo AB’s dotterbolag Volvo IT, för att sedan presentera

förbättringsförslag för framtida projekt i företaget. För att kunna uppfylla syftet med uppsatsen,

tog vi fram en forskningsfråga med tre följdfrågor och genom en grundlig analys av det

empiriska materialet kommer vi att presentera svaren på dessa frågor som våra slutsatser.

Vi har valt att genomföra en fallstudie med en induktiv ansats, för att införskaffa oss djupare

kunskap och därmed kunna generera ny kunskap inom området. Det empiriska materialet

analyserades utifrån en given modell där insamlad data delades in i lämpliga kategorier. Kunskapen

genererad från vår studie är av följande kunskapsform; kategoriell, förklarande, förutsägande

och normativ.

Efter att ha analyserat resultatet av vår fallstudie kan vi presentera ett flertal förbättringsförslag

för Volvo IT’s användning i framtida projekt. För andra företag, involverade i ERPsystemutvecklingsprojekt,

kan dessa fungera som värdefulla förslag att ta i beaktande. Vi

kom fram till att den främsta anledningen till bristande dokumentation inte är omedvetenheten

om dess betydelse, utan avsaknaden av konkreta bevis på dess positiva effekter på ett systems

totala kostnad. Vi anser att det krävs en attitydförändring kring dokumentation som

arbetsuppgift för att uppnå dokumentation som är av hög kvalitet och att arbetsuppgiften

som sådan behöver få högre prioritet i projekten. Ett annat viktigt förbättringsförslag vi fann

var att en kontroll av den producerade dokumentationens kvalité måste utföras, och inte

bara en kontroll av att den rätta sortens dokument finns. Vi anser att ett företag inte bör allokera

resurser till att skapa en metod eller modell över hur man ska dokumentera förrän vikten

och effekten av hög kvalitetsdokumentation är klargjord. Till sist anser vi att systemutvecklingsprocessen

bör fokuseras kring den framtida användaren, dels på grund av dagens

ökade användning av skräddarsydda system men också för att det minskar risken för en oönskad

effekt på projektets omfattning samt att det ökar kvaliteten på den slutgiltiga dokumentationen.

Bibliography: leaves 126-127.
This thesis presents a model that has been developed to provide a framework for inquiry in management research. Incorporated into the model are; the scientific method specifically as described by C.S. Peirce, the concept of learning cycles specifically as described by C. Handy, and the SCQATRE method that draws from the work of Minto and Ryan. This method maps over a learning cycle and presents a way of describing the problem by firstly describing the Situation, then expressing the Concern that you have regarding this situation. The Question that is raised by the concern follows. Thereafter comes the Answer to the question, a theoretical Test with a description of the Reasoning behind the answer and finally a practical Evaluation. System Thinking and its methods. I test the model by applying it to a complex problem o

First and foremost, we would like to thank to our supervisor Wagner Ourique de Moraisfor his valuable guidance and suggestions during the whole time of the thesis work. Hemotivated us contributed to our project and inspired us greatly.Furthermore, we would like to thank Anders Nilsson and Henrik Abrahamsson who arebusiness students at Halmstad University for the project idea. They gave us an opportunity toparticipate and learn from each other.Finally, we would like to thank you our friends for helping us this project.

碩士
國立交通大學
控制工程系
82
The design and implementation of an adaptive fuzzy system development system have been investigated in this thesis. The emphasis of the present exercise is on the adaptation of fuzzy systems and implementation of a developing system. In order to incorporate adaptation into fuzzy systems, a refined mathematical model for fuzzy systems is developed in such a way that the fuzzy logical rules in the systems are parameterized. With the simplified model formulation, fuzzy systems can be trained by gradient-based learning methods. To facilitate the software development, the basic concepts and operating modes are described in details. A novel design environment is proposed, which results in a very simple synthesis procedure and speeds up the system development.

碩士
雲林科技大學
機械工程系碩士班
98
Recently because the SPM technology has been exalted, the SNOM (Scanning Near-field Optical Microscope) has been shown. The pores in the SNOM technology infers the export that the metals include the end part of tiny optical fiber, and the aperture is small than the wavelength of incident rays. If we move the export of the optical fiber to the surface of the sample near 5-50nm, we could use the aperture to illuminate or collect the Evanescent Wave, that we would get the optics images near the surface and the size of the dpi is about the optical fiber aperture. The measurement of SNOM including 3 cases: Transmission, Reflex and Shear stress. Our research imitates the SNOM system, and develops the new SNOM that is low cost. Our research put the Red Ray 633 of DVD to be the incident rays, using the Three-axis Nanopositioner to be the sample one, and the PMT receive the information that transmits the sample to transfer to be the electronic signals, then the DAQ card resolve these cases to become digital signals. By analyzing these digital signals and transfer to the images. Normal black-and-white images are made of single signal, the stretch part uses the signals R, G and B to make the colorful ones. Our purpose is mainly on the developing the low cost SNOM with Transmission to make the image system of apoptosis to act.

碩士
雲林科技大學
機械工程系碩士班
98
This article uses the near field optics theory to construct one kind to be able to present whole of internal structure the nanometer level biology cell image system is a goal,Optics path of rays system which establishes by us, hoped that can overcome the defect of general nanometer level check-out equipment when picks up(capture) the biological cell image to gauge the scope not enough, by development of optical system and synchromesh self-made simple stage control system to further achieve us to need of the complete scope biology cell image And we also coordinated the self-made system to develop image processing system, because contained the cross technology to be more widespread, therefore this paper was mainly in the photo source system development part,moreover the image processing system and sample stage control system two parts are developed by two schoolmates of our laboratory. According to the demands of whole system,we explicit establish the design objective of optical system，in the situation of self-made designs may break many traditional instrument''s regarding biological cell gauging flaw，finally success design system and entity construction equipment，and establishes the light guide mechanism.