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Marques, Fernando Sérgio Bryton Dias. "Semantic interoperability assessment : iShare framework." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/663891.
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Interagency information sharing is widely acknowledged for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of several domains with high societal impact such as security, cybersecurity and health. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the development of interoperability among public services is a political priority in many countries around the world, and that, presently, several initiatives are ongoing with this purpose.
The proper management of such initiatives demands adequate instruments to support the definition of the existing (as-is) and desired (to-be) situations, as well as the identification, prioritization, monitoring and control of the actions that are necessary to achieve the objectives defined for developing interoperability. Moreover, appropriate instruments are also required to support the justification and comparison of initiatives, for example in situations where they compete for funds. However, the existing practical solutions are scarce and do not fit well these requirements.
Therefore, this research proposes a framework (iShare) for assessing the semantic interoperability - one of the facets of interoperability - of governmental agencies that use a common information model for exchanging information with each other. This assessment is made in two parts. The first part assesses how organizations are performing, in terms of semantic interoperability, and the second part assesses the relevance of that performance, considering a series of pre-defined factors.
To develop the iShare framework we followed the Design Science Research Method. The framework itself is based on Process Performance Indicators, on the Delphi Method and on the Weighted Sums Model. Its validation was performed during the development of the Portuguese maritime surveillance information exchange system (NIPIMAR), which is based on the information model of the European Maritime Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE).
The result of the validation was the assessment of the semantic interoperability of six public organizations participating in the project. In addition, some of the main ideas of the framework were immediately used within the project to assess the semantic interoperability of all organizations that were participating in it and to develop an action plan to improve their interoperability and information exchange.
The iShare framework has thus proven to be an innovative, useful, relevant and more objective way of assessing semantic interoperability among various organizations, which tells us how much and how relevant that interoperability is. Hence, the iShare framework contributes to the body of knowledge in the field and opens new possibilities for assessing interoperability and information exchange, and thus to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of governmental agencies.Es un hecho reconocido que el intercambio de información entre organismos y agencias mejora la eficiencia y efectividad en dominios con alto impacto en la sociedad, tales como seguridad, ciberseguridad y salud pública. Por tanto, no es una sorpresa que el desarrollo de la interoperabilidad entre organismos públicos sea una prioridad política en muchos países y que, en la actualidad, se esté trabajando en diversas iniciativas con esta finalidad. La correcta gestión de tales iniciativas requiere instrumentos adecuados, que puedan soportar la definición de la situación existente y la deseada, así como la identificación, priorización, monitorización y control de las acciones que son necesarias para conseguir los objetivos definidos para alcanzar la interoperabilidad. Asimismo, son necesarios instrumentos que permitan justificar y comparar diferentes iniciativas, por ejemplo, en situaciones en las que compitan por financiación. Sin embargo, actualmente las soluciones que ofrecen instrumentos reutilizables para estos propósitos son escasas, y aquellas que existen no cubren bien todos los requisitos. En este contexto, esta tesis doctoral propone un nuevo marco teórico llamado iShare para evaluar la interoperabilidad semántica, uno de los aspectos de la interoperabilidad, de organismos gubernamentales y/o agencias que utilicen un modelo de información común para el intercambio de datos entre ellos. Con iShare, esta evaluación se realiza en dos etapas. En la primera, se evalúa el rendimiento de las organizaciones en términos de interoperabilidad semántica, mientras que en la segunda etapa se evalúa la relevancia de ese rendimiento medido, considerando una serie de factores predeterminados. Para el desarrollo del marco teórico iShare, se utilizó la metodología de investigación Design Science, basada en los indicadores de rendimiento de proceso, en el método Delphi y el modelo Weighted Sums Model. Para su validación, se aplicó el mismo al desarrollo del sistema de vigilancia marítima NIPIMAR en Portugal, el cual está orientado al intercambio de datos y utiliza el modelo de información del programa europeo Maritime CISE (Common Information Sharing Environment for Maritime Surveillance, entorno común de intercambio de datos para vigilancia marítima). El proceso de validación permitió evaluar la interoperabilidad semántica de seis organismos públicos que participaban en el proyecto. Asimismo, algunas de las ideas del marco teórico fueron directamente incorporadas al proyecto para evaluar la interoperabilidad semántica de todos los organismos públicos portugueses y para desarrollar un plan de acción que mejore su interoperabilidad y el intercambio de información entre ellas. Los resultados de esta investigación demuestran que el marco teórico iShare ofrece una solución innovadora, útil, relevante y más objetiva para la evaluación de la interoperabilidad semántica entre varias organizaciones. Por todo ello, el marco teórico iShare contribuye al cuerpo de conocimiento en este campo científico y abre nuevas posibilidades para evaluar la interoperabilidad y así aumentar la eficiencia y la eficacia de las agencias gubernamentales.
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Siu, Jaspar (Jaspar W. )., and Santosh Stephen. "A supply network resiliency assessment framework." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/100086.
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Thesis: M. Eng. in Logistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2015.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 90-91).
Supply chain resiliency is a relatively new field within supply chain management. Many quantitative and qualitative resiliency frameworks are available. However, there is a need for a hybrid framework that provides a more comprehensive resiliency assessment. In this thesis, we attempt to synthesize important features from different assessment frameworks and develop a hybrid resiliency assessment framework that more comprehensively addresses resiliency assessment. Our proposed framework combines quantitative assessment with a qualitative assessment to create a single Balanced Scorecard of Resiliency (BSR). We deployed the quantitative assessment of the BSR framework in a single commodity supply chain of ABC Company, and were able to compute the expected business impact risk of each node. We also aggregated across multiple nodes to assess the expected business impacts of each of the facilities, suppliers and locations of ABC Company's supply chain, and identify the critical entities in the supply chain for mitigation planning. For the critical facilities, suppliers, and locations, we developed response curves of the expected business impact for key parameters to identify the best mitigation options and the extent of investments. Lastly, we used a supply chain visualization tool called Sourcemap to visualize the expected business impact risk in both a map view and supply network view. Our quantitative assessment of resiliency allowed us to gain insights and generate recommendations for improving ABC Company's supply chain resiliency.
by Jaspar Siu and Santosh Stephen.
M. Eng. in Logistics
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Cardone, Antonio. "A feature-based shape similarity assessment framework." College Park, Md. : University of Maryland, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1903/2834.
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Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2005Thesis research directed by: Mechanical Engineering. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.
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Plante, Carole Marie. "The Vietnamese Foreign Investment framework : an assessment." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp01/MQ29840.pdf.
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Ma, Yu. "A semiotic framework for buildings performance assessment." Thesis, University of Reading, 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.559259.
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Human beings are facing the unprecedented challenges of energy sustainability. A major part of the challenge is due to increasingly demands of an improved built environment arising from both the construction industry and building users. An increasing number of countries and organizations have a strong desire to find solutions for the construction industry to mitigate the negative impact on the built environment and to provide a higher quality of workplace. Many construction concepts have emerged, e.g. Intelligent Buildings (IBs), Green Buildings (GBs), Bio-Hornes, which intend to offer human beings enlightening methods and a passport to getting through the new construction generation in new buildings and refurbishments. All of these construction concepts focusing on improved energy efficiency for buildings, whilst improving the built environment's effect on well-being, are commonly recognized across the world as 'sustainable development' or 'sustainability'. To measure the degree of the 'performance' of buildings, various building assessment methods have been developed as the building environmental performance assessment methods. Building environmental performance assessment methods can provide good ways to reach the improvements in the building energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, to benefit the building users' productivities, as well as the business performance of the organizations. Building performance has to be measured and compared against best performing practices in the construction industry. However, most current building performance assessment methods are pre-defined environmental standards with the perspective of limited stakeholders. It is doubtful that the existing building assessment methods can have a comprehensive and objective set of Performance Indicators (PIs), to present the changing built environment and changing building stakeholders' expectations and requirements. This leads to failing to address identification and integration of multiple perspectives. Therefore the performance assessment method increasingly requires a comprehensive and objective approach, which is geared to both the stakeholders' requirements and sustainable development. In the construction industry, the understanding and selection of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in building environmental performance assessment has a significant III impact on the assessment result and improvement practices. There are many environmental assessment methods currently being used globally, most of them address certain pre-defined environmental standards and requirements, which have inevitably been developed with some constraints and limitations. However, many questions are raised on how these performance indicators were selected and how these indicators were used to measure the rate of building performance improvement. The KPIs to be used in existing building performance assessment are usually decided upon by senior managers and building experts (designers, developers, contractors, etc.), and this leads to a subjective assessment result. Thus KPIs should be determined for each building process area and given weightings by expert groups to display their importance and relevance within construction organisations. A semiotics-based framework for assessing building performance is established in this research, which aims to provide an innovative approach for generating construction project KPIs from listed PIs, that deal with an increasing number of requirements from the construction industry and building users. This research will use the semiotics six layers framework and lead to the use of affordances as a method of generating KPls according to the built environment and stakeholders' requirements. It will define the PIs from building's affordances in the six semiotic layers, then range from physical properties and functions to social value. The proposed framework takes a more scientific and systematic approach to the building performance assessment. This research is an attempt that has been made to the semiotics theory for generating KPls in building environment performance assessment methods. Further practical implementations will be suggested by describing each PI using affordances as the application of the method of semiotics. IV.
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ESCOVEDO, TATIANA. "ISSUENET: A FRAMEWORK FOR COLLABORATIVE TASK ASSESSMENT." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2007. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=11336@1.
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CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOAtualmente, o mercado de trabalho é caracterizado por globalização, forte competição, rápidas mudanças, crescente fluxo e obsolescência de informações e exigentes padrões de qualidade e de produtividade. Para acompanhar estas transformações, portanto, a escola também precisa evoluir do modelo clássico para a Aprendizagem Colaborativa, a fim de formar indivíduos capazes de se comunicar, trabalhar em grupo na resolução de problemas complexos e interdisciplinares, coordenar o trabalho individual e do grupo, e tomar as melhores decisões. Esta pesquisa investiga especificamente a avaliação colaborativa em grupos de trabalho e de aprendizagem, e propõe o IssueNet, um Framework de colaboração para acompanhamento e avaliação colaborativa de tarefas. Para validar a contribuição do Framework na avaliação colaborativa, e investigar que outras influências a sua utilização exerce em grupos de trabalho ou de aprendizagem, foram realizados dois estudos de caso com duas instâncias distintas do IssueNet. Após a análise dos estudos de caso e dos depoimentos dos participantes, concluiu-se que o Framework atendeu às expectativas de possibilitar a avaliação colaborativa em grupos de trabalho ou aprendizagem.
Currently, the business market is characterized by globalization, strong competition, fast changes, increasing flow and obsolescence of information and demanding quality standards and productivity. To follow these transformations, the school also needs to evolve from the classical model to Collaborative Learning, in order to form individuals capable to communicating, working in group for the resolution of complex and interdisciplinary problems, coordinating the individual work and that of the group, and taking the best decisions. This research specifically investigates the collaborative evaluation in learning and working groups, and proposes IssueNet, a collaboration Framework for the management and collaborative evaluation of tasks. To validate the contributions brought about by the Framework, and to investigate what other influences it may have on learning or working groups, two case-studies using two distinct IssueNet instances have been carried through. After the analysis of the casestudies and of the based on the comments of the participants, we have concluded that the Framework satisfies our expectations by making it possible the collaborative evaluation in learning or working groups.
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Wang, Ding Ph D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Adaptive rapid environmental assessment system simulation framework." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/33592.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Ocean Engineering; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2005.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 170-171).
Adaptive Rapid Environmental Assessment (AREA) is a new concept for minimizing the non model-based sonar performance prediction uncertainty and improving the model-based sonar performance by adaptive and rapid in situ measurement in the ocean environment. In this thesis, a possible structure of the AREA system has been developed; an AREA System Simulation Framework has been constructed using C++, which can simulate how AREA system will work and be utilized to determine the optimal or sub-optimal sampling strategies. A user's manual for the simulation framework, and specifications of all important C++ classes are included.
by Ding Wang.
S.M.
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Mariana, Valerie Ruth. "The Multidimensional Quality Metric (MQM) Framework: A New Framework for Translation Quality Assessment." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2014. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4312.
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This document is a supplement to the article entitled “The Multidimensional Quality Metric (MQM) Framework: A New Framework for Translation Quality Assessment”, which has been acepted for publication in the upcoming January volume of JoSTrans, the Journal of Specialized Translation. The article is a coauthored project between Dr. Alan K. Melby, Dr. Troy Cox and myself. In this document you will find a preface describing the process of writing the article, an annotated bibliography of sources consulted in my research, a summary of what I learned, and a conclusion that considers the future avenues opened up by this research. Our article examines a new method for assessing the quality of a translation known as the Multidimensional Quality Metric, MQM. In our experiment we set the MQM framework to mirror, as closely as possible, the American Translators Association's (ATA) translator certification exam. To do this we mapped the ATA error categories to corresponding MQM error categories. We acquired a set of 29 student translations and had a group of student raters use the MQM framework to rate these translations. We measured the practicality of the MQM framework by comparing the time required for ratings to the average time required to rate translations in the industry. In addition, we had 2 ATA certified translators rate the anchor translation (a translation that was scored by every rater in order to have a point of comparison). The certified translators' ratings were used to verify that the scores given by the student raters were valid. Reliability was also measured, which found that the student raters were not interchangeable, but that the measurement estimate of reliability was adequate. The article's goal was to determine the extent to which the Multidimensional Quality Metric framework for translation evaluation is viable (practical, reliable and valid) when designed to mirror the ATA certification exam. Overall, the results of the experiment showed that MQM could be a viable way to rate translation quality when operationalized based on the ATA's translator certification exam. This is an important discovery in the field of translation quality, because it shows that MQM could be a viable tool for future researchers. Our experiment suggests that researchers ought to take advantage of the MQM framework because, not only is it free, but any studies completed using the MQM framework would have a common base, making these studies more easily comparable.
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Holmefjord, Anders Johan. "SAM Engine : Model-based Framework for Scalability Assessment." Thesis, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Computer and Information Science, 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-10101.
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Today's way of life includes increasing amounts of information, and therefore handling and processing of information. Almost everything you do involves some sort of a computer somewhere, and many businesses have implemented comprehensive computer systems into their corporative structure, to serve both employees and customers. But if a new service is introduced to the users, or a new group of users are introduced to an existing service, how do you know if the performance will be satisfying? To deal with such questions, a method called The Scalability Assessment Method (SAM) has been developed. The Scalability Assessment Method is a general procedure for evaluating the scalability of a system architecture. Other projects have applied SAM to real reference systems, and their results have shown that SAM is a method that can be trusted to give credible predictions. Until recently, dedicated software tools that support the SAM method have been absent, and the researchers have been using i.a. spreadsheets in an ad hoc approach to the problems. Therefore, a SAM software package is in development. The SAM Engine (SAMe) is a Java program developed in this project, with an intuitive user interface that is enabling a non-expert user to apply the method on a desired architecture. This report documents the development of the prototype SAM Engine (SAMe), and how the program supports the SAM method. Keywords: Performance evaluation, scalability, simulation, Structure and Performance, SAM.
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Ho, Elaine Mandy, and 何敏怡. "The risk assessment framework for hyperfunctional voice disorders." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2011. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B48329988.
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A number of risks have been proposed in the literature to be associated with hyperfunctional voice disorder (HVD), one of the most common communication disorders. Yet, it is not distributed randomly in the population, certain population groups are at higher risks of developing voice disorders. It is generally agreed that the development of voice disorders involves a multifactorial genesis. The study of risks has been documented in different diseases and also in the World Health Report (W.H.O., 2002). The probabilistic approach has been recommended to effectively manage the likelihood of health outcome in relations to disease development (Tonetti, 1988) and systematically devise prevention and intervention programs targeting population at risk. Yet, in the study of the development of HVD, the lack of a universally agreed theoretical framework prohibited the establishment of such structure and research on advancement on preventive programs.
The present thesis aimed to investigate the adoption of the FMAT risk assessment framework based on the probabilistic approach (WHO) to the field of hyperfunctional voice disorders. A Voice Risk Calculator (VRC) Questionnaire was developed focusing on the vocal loading, physiological/medical and psycho-emotional indicators and all subjects completed this questionnaire. The VRC Questionnaire was then validated based on the FMAT framework using a cross-sectional study was used to identify risk indicators associated with HVD development in the local population and a longitudinal study was employed to validate these risk indicators as risk factors. A total of 192 Cantonese-speaking subjects participated in the cross-sectional study including 123 dysphonic subjects and 69 non-dysphonic control subjects and 7 in the longitudinal study. Instrumental measurements including the voice range profile, aerodynamic measurements and the Voice Activity and Participation Profile (VAPP, Ma & Yiu, 2001) were also used as part of the validation procedure.
The findings showed that significant differences were found between the dysphonic and non-dysphonic group in the cross-sectional study based on results from the instrumental measurements protocol. A minimal set of selected VRC questionnaire items were also determined (Items 1, 3, 25 and somatization scale) to differences between the subject groups in this study. Thus a set of locally-applicable risk indicators have been suggested. Yet, only minimal changes have been detected in a high-risk group targeted in the longitudinal study. Research (Beck, 1994) indicated that disease progression takes over a time frame of at least more than two years. Thus the small subject size and temporal element of the longitudinal study in the present thesis limited research aim to be achieved. Nonetheless that first phase of the FMAT framework for hyperfunctional voice disorders have been established in the current study and a finalized version of the Voice Risk Calculated Questionnaire has been developed for future research.published_or_final_version
Speech and Hearing Sciences
Doctoral
Doctor of Philosophy
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Allott, Nicholas Mark. "A natural language processing framework for automated assessment." Thesis, Nottingham Trent University, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.314333.
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Habaragamu, Ralalage Wijendra Peiris Gunathilake. "A quality assessment framework for knowledge management software." Thesis, Keele University, 2016. http://eprints.keele.ac.uk/3235/.
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CONTEXT: Knowledge is a strategic asset to any organisation due to its usefulness in supporting innovation, performance improvement and competitive advantage. In order to gain the maximum benefit from knowledge, the effective management of various forms of knowledge is increasingly viewed as vital. A Knowledge Management System (KMS) is a class of Information System (IS) that manages organisational knowledge, and KMS software (KMSS) is a KMS component that can be used as a platform for managing various forms of knowledge. The evaluation of the effectiveness or quality of KMS software is challenging, and no systematic evidence exists on the quality evaluation of knowledge management software which considers the various aspects of Knowledge Management (KM) to ensure the effectiveness of a KMS. AIM: The overall aim is to formalise a quality assessment framework for knowledge management software (KMSS). METHOD: In order to achieve the aim, the research was planned and carried out in the stages identified in the software engineering research methods literature. The need for this research was identified through a mapping study of prior KMS research. The data collected through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) and the evaluation of a KMSS prototype using a sample of 58 regular users of knowledge management software were used as the main sources of data for the formalisation of the quality assessment framework. A test bed for empirical data collection was designed and implemented based on key principles of learning. A formalised quality assessment framework was applied to select knowledge management software and was evaluated for effectiveness. RESULTS: The final outcome of this research is a quality assessment framework consisting of 41 quality attributes categorised under content quality, platform quality and user satisfaction. A Quality Index was formulated by integrating these three categories of quality attributes to evaluate the quality of knowledge management software. CONCLUSION: This research generates novel contributions by presenting a framework for the quality assessment of knowledge management software, never previously available in the research. This framework is a valuable resource for any organisation or individual in selecting the most suitable knowledge management software by considering the quality attributes of the software.
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Carrancho, Ana Patrícia da Silva. "O modelo common assessment framework: estudo de caso." Master's thesis, Universidade de Aveiro, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10773/8738.
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Mestrado em Contabilidade e Administração PúblicaJá muito se escreveu e dissertou acerca da qualidade e modernização nos serviços públicos. O presente trabalho assenta sobre a qualidade nos serviços públicos, nomeadamente a sua evolução por via da modernização administrativa, visto que não se pode falar de qualidade na administração pública sem referir a modernização administrativa, uma vez que muito do que se fez em termos de qualidade nos serviços públicos advém das diversas reformas implementadas pelos Governos. Além do mais, convém frisar que, após a revisão bibliográfica realizada, concluiu-se que o conceito de qualidade varia consoante a época analisada. Seguidamente a questão que se coloca é: como medir a qualidade nos serviços públicos? Face a esta questão foi apresentado um modelo que poderia suprir este fim, o Common Assessment Framework. Com este modelo tornase possível obter um diagnóstico da organização por meio da autoavaliação. Modelo criado sob a égide dos Diretores- Gerais das Administrações Públicas, já teve duas versões anteriores à atual. A sua versão piloto foi apresentada em maio de 2000, durante a 1ª Conferência da Qualidade das Administrações Públicas da União Europeia, realizada em Lisboa e em 2002 foi apresentada uma nova versão. A versão atual – que resultou da experiência da aplicação do modelo nos países da Europa – foi apresentada durante a 4.ª Conferência para a Qualidade das Administrações Públicas da União Europeia, que aconteceu na Finlândia, em 2006. A metodologia aplicada neste trabalho foi o estudo de caso por via da investigação exploratória, isto é, foi aplicado o modelo Common Assessment Framework a três divisões de uma Instituição do ensino superior público. O estudo do caso pretende demonstrar a aplicação do modelo, em contexto real e servir de exemplo para situações do mesmo tipo, tendo sido realizado uma apurada e exaustiva revisão bibliográfica sobre este tema de forma a sustentar a subsequente parte empírica do nosso trabalho. Para terminar, apenas temos a indicar que o modelo Common Assessment Framework é um instrumento muito útil de autoavaliação, cujos resultados conferem um diagnóstico amplo da organização, que pode levar a ações de melhoria e ainda servir de base para redefinição dos objetivos estratégicos da entidade.
A lot has been said and written about the quality and modernization of the public setor. This work is about the quality of the public setor, namely its evolution through administrative modernization. Thus, the question that comes to our minds is: how should the quality in the public setor be measured? To answer this question some models have been presented, yet, the one chosen to be developed in empirical terms was the Common Assessment Framework. With this model, it became possible to obtain a diagnosis of the organization through selfassessment. It was created under the aegis of the General Directors of Public Administrations, and it has had two versions prior to the present one. The pilot version of CAF was presented in May 2000, during the 1st Conference of Quality of Public Administration of the European Union, held in Lisbon, and in 2002, a new version was presented. The current version resulted from the experience of the application of the new model in the European countries and was presented during the 4th Conference for Quality of the Public Administration of the European Union, which took place in Finland, in 2006. The methodology used was the case study through exploratory investigation, which means that the mentioned model was applied to three sectors of a public university. The study of the case has the aim of demonstrating the application of the model in real context and to be used as an example for the same type of situation. After the bibliographic revision and the study of the case, it can be concluded that the concept of quality changes according to the time that it is analysed. We cannot talk about quality in public administration without referring to administrative modernization, since a lot of what has been done as far as quality is concerned in the public setor, is an outcome of several reforms implemented by the Governments. The model is considered a very useful instrument of selfassessment. Its results show an extensive diagnosis of the organization, which can lead to actions of improvement and be the basis for the redefinition of the strategic goals of the entity.
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Amadio, Mattia <1984>. "Integrated framework for flood risk assessment in Italy." Doctoral thesis, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10579/14965.
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The preventive assessment of flood risk is key to understand the costs of hazard scenarios in a changing climate so that adequate adaptation policies can be timely implemented. Italy is a flood-prone country that suffers among the highest economic impacts in the EU. Nevertheless, there is no established approach for estimating the economic impact of flood events. This is critical considering that such impacts are expected to increase by 2050 in Europe due to the effect of increased climate variability.
This thesis improves the customary flood risk framework commonly applied to translate the changes in flood hazard probability and magnitude into variation of Expected Annual Damage. It does so by focusing on the key components of the analysis, particularly the representation of exposed value and the characterisation of vulnerability.
In Paper #1 I test the performance of existing flood damage models for estimating direct impact to different land use categories.
In Paper #2 I calibrate a new damage curve for residential units using empirical damage records and a statistical calibration procedure adapted from an Australian study.
In Paper #3, I collect heterogeneous country-wide exposure data and combine them using a dasymetric approach in order to draw a new homogeneous dataset including asset, population, GDP, and social vulnerability.
Paper #4 takes a further step in the elaboration of a tool that can be practically employed for country-wide risk assessment. Damage observations from three recent flood events are employed to evaluate the relative importance of risk predictive variables and to test the accuracy of different damage models. Two machine learning algorithms are applied to assess the predictive ability of a multivariable setup compared to a customary univariable models.
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Hadley, Michael P. Wiest James A. "Integrated theater assessment profiling system /." Monterey, Calif. : Springfield, Va. : Naval Postgraduate School ; Available from National Technical Information Service, 2002. http://library.nps.navy.mil/uhtbin/hyperion-image/02sep%5FHadley.pdf.
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Thesis (M.S. in Information Technology Management and M.S. in Computer Science)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2002.Thesis advisor(s): Alexander Bordetsky, Richard S. Coté. Michael P. Hadley received M.S. degrees in Information Technology Management and in Computer Science. James A. Wiest received a M.S. degree in Information Technology Management. Also available online.
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Torstensson, Philip, and Victor Goch. "Development of a conceptual sustainability assessment framework : A sustainability assessment of autonomous vehicles." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för industriell teknik och management (ITM), 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-251733.
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Today’s sustainability assessment frameworks are no longer applicable when evaluating the newautomotive vehicles. Therefore, the need for suitable automotive evaluation frameworks increasesas companies and scientists are trying to predict the important sustainability characteristics oftomorrows car and how it will affect our societies. The goal is to create a conceptual sustainabilityassessment framework to solve the very complex question of what the most important criteria areand how this new transportation type might affect our society. This is done using a systemapproach, a method that is suitable for studying interrelations between the influencing factors incomplex problems like the one between the sustainability dimensions. Scenario analysis has beenused in order to create the future environment and do a segmentation of the plausible concepts offuturistic transportation options. The evaluation criteria have been developed by gatheringinformation through a literature study and from primary sources via interviews.The resulting framework is composed of 19 evaluation criteria from the different dimensions ofsustainability. The framework allows the user to insert a futuristic concept and evaluate it tocompare a numeric score to other concepts to get indicators of how sustainable the concept is. Thesegmentation of futuristic vehicles shows that the most plausible types of automated vehicles areshared taxis, non-shared taxis and privately owned vehicles, all affecting society differently.The thematic analysis of the criteria has shown that there some relationships and types of criteriathat are more important than others. The most essential discovered correlations between criteriaare: Production and affordability and also maintenance & operation and affordability, affordabilitywith accessibility, affordability & accessibility and traffic volumes and further traffic Volumesand pollution. The developed framework is believed to have the desired function of creating a trustworthyassessment of autonomous vehicles based on the literature study and previous discoveries withinthe field. The evaluation of the different segments is left for future work.Dagens ramverk för hållbarhetsbedömningar är inte längre användbara vid utvärdering av nyasjälvkörande fordon. Därför har behovet ökat av lämpliga ramverk som fokuserar påhållbarhetsutvärderingar när företag och forskare försöker förutse de viktigahållbarhetsegenskaperna av morgondagens fordon och hur de kommer att påverka vårt samhälleutifrån ett hållbarhetsperspektiv. Målet med studien är att skapa ett konceptuellt ramverk förhållbarhetsbedömning som kan hjälpa till att lösa den mycket komplexa frågan om vilka viktigakriterier bör inkluderas vid en evaluering av denna nya typ av transport. Studien har följt ettsystematiskt tillvägagångssätt kallat ”System approach”, en metod som är lämplig för studier därrelationer mellan olika påverkande faktorer är väldigt komplexa, som den mellanhållbarhetsdimensionerna. Scenarioanalys har används för att skapa en framtida miljö och ensegmentering av de mest trovärdiga koncepten av framtida transportalternativ. Utvärderingskriterierna har utvecklats genom att samla in information från en litteraturstudie ochfrån primära källor genom intervjuer. Det resulterande ramverket är sammansatt av 19 utvärderingskriterier inom de olikadimensionerna för hållbarhet. Med det resulterade ramverket kan användaren införa ett futuristisktfordonskoncept och bedöma detta för att få ett numeriskt resultat och jämföra dessa med andrautvärderingar för att få en indikation om hur hållbara koncepten är gentemot varandra. Segmenteringen av de futuristiska fordonstyperna visar att de mest trovärdiga typerna avautomatiserade färdmedel är delade taxitjänster, privata taxitjänster och privatägda fordon, allamed olika påverkan på samhället. Den tema-baserade analys av kriterierna har visat att det finns vissa relationer och typer av kriteriersom är viktigare än andra. De viktigaste upptäckta relationerna mellan kriterier är: Produktion ochekonomisk tillgänglighet, underhåll och ekonomisk tillgänglighet, ekonomisk tillgänglighet medtillgänglighet till transport, tillgänglighet till transport och trafikvolymer, ekonomisk tillgänglighetoch trafikvolymer och slutligen så påverkar trafikvolymerna utsläppet. Det utvecklade konceptuella ramverket antas ha den önskade funktionen att skapa en pålitligbedömning av autonoma fordon baserat på litteraturstudien och tidigare upptäckter inom fältet. Utvärderingen av de olika segmenten lämnas till framtida studier.
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Sommestad, Teodor. "A framework and theory for cyber security assessments." Doctoral thesis, KTH, Industriella informations- och styrsystem, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-103690.
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Information technology (IT) is critical and valuable to our society. An important type of IT system is Supervisor Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. These systems are used to control and monitor physical industrial processes like electrical power supply, water supply and railroad transport. Since our society is heavily dependent on these industrial processes we are also dependent on the behavior of our SCADA systems. SCADA systems have become (and continue to be) integrated with other IT systems they are thereby becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyber threats. Decision makers need to assess the security that a SCADA system’s architecture offers in order to make informed decisions concerning its appropriateness. However, data collection costs often restrict how much information that can be collected about the SCADA system’s architecture and it is difficult for a decision maker to know how important different variables are or what their value mean for the SCADA system’s security. The contribution of this thesis is a modeling framework and a theory to support cyber security vulnerability assessments. It has a particular focus on SCADA systems. The thesis is a composite of six papers. Paper A describes a template stating how probabilistic relational models can be used to connect architecture models with cyber security theory. Papers B through E contribute with theory on operational security. More precisely, they contribute with theory on: discovery of software vulnerabilities (paper B), remote arbitrary code exploits (paper C), intrusion detection (paper D) and denial-of-service attacks (paper E). Paper F describes how the contribution of paper A is combined with the contributions of papers B through E and other operationalized cyber security theory. The result is a decision support tool called the Cyber Security Modeling Language (CySeMoL). This tool produces a vulnerability assessment for a system based on an architecture model of it.Informationsteknik (IT) är kritiskt och värdefullt för vårt samhälle. En viktig typ av IT-system är de styrsystem som ofta kallas SCADA-system (från engelskans "Supervisor Control And Data Acquisition"). Dessa system styr och övervakar fysiska industriella processer så som kraftförsörjning, vattenförsörjning och järnvägstransport. Eftersom vårt samhälle är beroende av dessa industriella processer så är vi också beroende av våra SCADA-systems beteende. SCADA-system har blivit (och fortsätter bli) integrerade med andra IT system och blir därmed mer sårbara för cyberhot. Beslutsfattare behöver utvärdera säkerheten som en systemarkitektur erbjuder för att kunna fatta informerade beslut rörande dess lämplighet. Men datainsamlingskostnader begränsar ofta hur mycket information som kan samlas in om ett SCADA-systems arkitektur och det är svårt för en beslutsfattare att veta hur viktiga olika variabler är eller vad deras värden betyder för SCADA-systemets säkerhet. Bidraget i denna avhandling är ett modelleringsramverk och en teori för att stödja cybersäkerhetsutvärderingar. Det har ett särskilt focus på SCADA-system. Avhandlingen är av sammanläggningstyp och består av sex artiklar. Artikel A beskriver en mall för hur probabilistiska relationsmodeller kan användas för att koppla samman cybersäkerhetsteori med arkitekturmodeller. Artikel B till E bidrar med teori inom operationell säkerhet. Mer exakt, de bidrar med teori angående: upptäckt av mjukvarusårbarheter (artikel B), fjärrexekvering av godtycklig kod (artikel C), intrångsdetektering (artikel D) och attacker mot tillgänglighet (artikel E). Artikel F beskriver hur bidraget i artikel A kombineras med bidragen i artikel B till E och annan operationell cybersäkerhetsteori. Resultatet är ett beslutsstödsverktyg kallat Cyber Security Modeling Language (CySeMoL). Beslutsstödsverktyget producerar sårbarhetsutvärdering för ett system baserat på en arkitekturmodell av det.
QC 20121018
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Tan, Kian Guan. "A decision support system framework for 'design for safety'." Thesis, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.299645.
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Cakir, Murat. "Information System Effectiveness Assessment Framework For The Turkish Army." Master's thesis, METU, 2004. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/2/12605338/index.pdf.
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The primary purpose of this study is to develop a methodology that can be used to assess IS effectiveness in the Turkish Army. This study starts with the review of the information system effectiveness and assessment paradigms. Afterwards, influences of the characteristics of the Turkish Army on IS effectiveness assessment techniques are investigated. Observations and interviews are determined as the favorable data collection techniques. A user perceived effectiveness assessment instrument for semi-structured interviews is developed. Then a case study is applied to assess IS effectiveness in one of the units of the Turkish Army. At the end of the thesis, a qualitative assessment methodology based on maturity and key determinants of a successful IS are proposed for the Turkish Army.
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Adrianti. "A risk assessment framework for power system protection schemes." Thesis, University of Strathclyde, 2015. http://digitool.lib.strath.ac.uk:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=25995.
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Performance of power system protection is determined by the protection system objectives such as dependability, security, selectivity and speed. However, these objectives often conflict one another where an enhancement of performance with respect to one objective causes a deterioration of another. Therefore, the protection design and setting must provide the optimal level of performance based on carefully considered compromise among the objectives. This thesis proposes that the best compromise can be achieved when the minimum overall risk introduced by a given protection scheme is considered as a decision guiding principle. The risk is calculated as a product of the likelihood of the system failure (resulting from protection not operating as intended) and the anticipated failures cost and it can be used to rank alternative solutions or schemes. Such assessment can assist in a protection selection process, evaluation of existing schemes, or finding optimal settings. In order to facilitate the utilisation of risk assessment for power system protection, this thesis proposes a dedicated framework which can help the assessor to perform the risk assessment and report the result to decision makers in an efficient and systematic manner. The framework consists of risk assessment objectives, terminologies, metrics, knowledge of protection and the protected system, scenarios, data, assumptions, and assessment steps. Three case studies are presented to illustrate different intended uses and modelling levels of risk assessment implementation. The first case study evaluates of the existing distance protection on a transmission line after installation of a quadrature booster transformer. The risk result informs the decision making process relating to whether the protection can be maintained or needs to be changed or modified. In the second case study, setting of ROCOF protection is selected based on risk introduced by the settings, hence the optimum setting is the setting with the least risk. The third case study demonstrates application of protection selection i.e. adaptive versus conventional overcurrent protection for a distribution network with DG. The case studies show that risk assessment has been successful in quantifying the overall protection performance according to the intended use and the framework has provided a useful guidance for the assessment.
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Ahmad, Arniyati. "A cyber exercise post assessment framework : in Malaysia perspectives." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2016. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/7553/.
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Critical infrastructures are based on complex systems that provide vital services to the nation. The complexities of the interconnected networks, each managed by individual organisations, if not properly secured, could offer vulnerabilities that threaten other organisations’ systems that depend on their services. This thesis argues that the awareness of interdependencies among critical sectors needs to be increased. Managing and securing critical infrastructure is not isolated responsibility of a government or an individual organisation. There is a need for a strong collaboration among critical service providers of public and private organisations in protecting critical information infrastructure. Cyber exercises have been incorporated in national cyber security strategies as part of critical information infrastructure protection. However, organising a cyber exercise involved multi sectors is challenging due to the diversity of participants’ background, working environments and incidents response policies. How well the lessons learned from the cyber exercise and how it can be transferred to the participating organisations is still a looming question. In order to understand the implications of cyber exercises on what participants have learnt and how it benefits participants’ organisation, a Cyber Exercise Post Assessment (CEPA) framework was proposed in this research. The CEPA framework consists of two parts. The first part aims to investigate the lessons learnt by participants from a cyber exercise using the four levels of the Kirkpatrick Training Model to identify their perceptions on reaction, learning, behaviour and results of the exercise. The second part investigates the Organisation Cyber Resilience (OCR) of participating sectors. The framework was used to study the impact of the cyber exercise called X Maya in Malaysia. Data collected through interviews with X Maya 5 participants were coded and categorised based on four levels according to the Kirkpatrick Training Model, while online surveys distributed to ten Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) sectors participated in the exercise. The survey used the C-Suite Executive Checklist developed by World Economic Forum in 2012. To ensure the suitability of the tool used to investigate the OCR, a reliability test conducted on the survey items showed high internal consistency results. Finally, individual OCR scores were used to develop the OCR Maturity Model to provide the organisation cyber resilience perspectives of the ten CNII sectors.
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Mnjama, Javan Joshua. "Towards a threat assessment framework for consumer health wearables." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62649.
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The collection of health data such as physical activity, consumption and physiological data through the use of consumer health wearables via fitness trackers are very beneficial for the promotion of physical wellness. However, consumer health wearables and their associated applications are known to have privacy and security concerns that can potentially make the collected personal health data vulnerable to hackers. These concerns are attributed to security theoretical frameworks not sufficiently addressing the entirety of privacy and security concerns relating to the diverse technological ecosystem of consumer health wearables. The objective of this research was therefore to develop a threat assessment framework that can be used to guide the detection of vulnerabilities which affect consumer health wearables and their associated applications. To meet this objective, the Design Science Research methodology was used to develop the desired artefact (Consumer Health Wearable Threat Assessment Framework). The framework is comprised of fourteen vulnerabilities classified according to Authentication, Authorization, Availability, Confidentiality, Non-Repudiation and Integrity. Through developing the artefact, the threat assessment framework was demonstrated on two fitness trackers and their associated applications. It was discovered, that the framework was able to identify how these vulnerabilities affected, these two test cases based on the classification categories of the framework. The framework was also evaluated by four security experts who assessed the quality, utility and efficacy of the framework. Experts, supported the use of the framework as a relevant and comprehensive framework to guide the detection of vulnerabilities towards consumer health wearables and their associated applications. The implication of this research study is that the framework can be used by developers to better identify the vulnerabilities of consumer health wearables and their associated applications. This will assist in creating a more securer environment for the storage and use of health data by consumer health wearables.
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McCarthy, Megan Emma. "Strategic environmental assessment: developing a framework for South Australia." Adelaide, 1995. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09ENV/09envm123.pdf.
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Mohseni, Martina. "Helix-simulation framework development for assessment of rotorcraft engines." Thesis, Cranfield University, 2011. http://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/6801.
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The inevitable growth of air traffic resulting from the increasing demands on utilization of the aircraft for various purposes has introduced public awareness and concern about the contribution of air traffic towards climate change. The increase of aircraft emissions enhancing the greenhouse effect and decreasing the air quality in general, is no longer considered sustainable and steps are being taken towards the mitigation of this problem. Although a significant research activity takes place in the development of new technologies, the most readily available solution to this problem is seen in applying changes to aircraft operational rules and procedures and in optimizing the flight paths using the aircraft currently in service.
The helicopter, although comprising a significantly smaller portion of the aircraft market in comparison with the fixed-winged aircraft, is experiencing the same concerns with respect to the amount of gaseous emissions produced. The helicopter plays a specific and irreplaceable role in the air transportation and it is often being used for purposes where the environmental concerns are secondary (such as during medical rescue operations or during police missions). It is however being increasingly employed for non-urgent operations, such as executive business travel or for the transportation of personnel to and from oil rigs. In all cases, the most readily available solution (and also perhaps the least costly) to lowering the gaseous emissions is to evaluate the helicopter engine performance along a given flight path using a computer program in order to investigate the effect on fuel burn and gaseous emissions. Cont/d.
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Jayal, Ambikesh. "Framework to manage labels for e-assessment of diagrams." Thesis, Brunel University, 2010. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/4496.
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Automatic marking of coursework has many advantages in terms of resource benefits and consistency. Diagrams are quite common in many domains including computer science but marking them automatically is a challenging task. There has been previous research to accomplish this, but results to date have been limited. Much of the meaning of a diagram is contained in the labels and in order to automatically mark the diagrams the labels need to be understood. However the choice of labels used by students in a diagram is largely unrestricted and diversity of labels can be a problem while matching. This thesis has measured the extent of the diagram label matching problem and proposed and evaluated a configurable extensible framework to solve it. A new hybrid syntax matching algorithm has also been proposed and evaluated. This hybrid approach is based on the multiple existing syntax algorithms. Experiments were conducted on a corpus of coursework which was large scale, realistic and representative of UK HEI students. The results show that the diagram label matching is a substantial problem and cannot be easily avoided for the e-assessment of diagrams. The results also show that the hybrid approach was better than the three existing syntax algorithms. The results also show that the framework has been effective but only to limited extent and needs to be further refined for the semantic stage. The framework proposed in this Thesis is configurable and extensible. It can be extended to include other algorithms and set of parameters. The framework uses configuration XML, dynamic loading of classes and two design patterns namely strategy design pattern and facade design pattern. A software prototype implementation of the framework has been developed in order to evaluate it. Finally this thesis also contributes the corpus of coursework and an open source software implementation of the proposed framework. Since the framework is configurable and extensible, its software implementation can be extended and used by the research community.
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Meng, Xianhai. "Development of Assessment Framework for Construction Supply Chain Relationships." Thesis, University of the West of England, Bristol, 2008. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.495461.
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In recent years, the UK construction industry has been showing a growing interest in the principles and practice of supply chain collaboration. Despite of some similarities with other sectors, where supply chain management is widely adopted, construction . supply chains have some specific characteristics, such as their diversity and fluidity. A number of construction supply chain relationship models have been proposed by various existing studies. However, there are some obvious deficiencies with these exiting models, such as the incomplete coverage of key areas, the inappropriate definition of maturity levels, and the lack of proper assessment procedures. This highlights the need for a new systematic framework to assess the supply chain relationships in the construction industry. This research aims at developing a systematic framework for assessing construction supply chain relationships based on the general capability maturity model methodology. It adopts a focused approach by concentrating on in-depth assessment for individual relationships in a construction supply chain, instead of a holistic approach for the whole supply chain. The developed framework specifies 8 main criteria and 24 sub-criteria, through which a supply chain relationship will be measured. It also defines detailed descriptions for each criterion at 4 different maturity levels. Three methods are proposed, outlining relevant procedures of different levels of assessment in practice. The framework is developed based on a comprehensive review of existing studies and empirical work in the form of expert group discussion and questionnaire survey. It is evaluated through a role play worksh~p, expert interviews and case studies. By using this framework, construction organisations and project teams can position their current relationship on the maturity matrix and identify key areas for the future relationship improvement.
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Hobbs, Stephen. "A pre-transfer assessment framework for international technology transfer." Thesis, University of Plymouth, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/664.
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The demands of managing in an international operating environment have changed considerably over the past 20 years due to developments in global markets. Multinational enterprises face fierce international competition and are now tasked not only with developing effective competitive capabilities but also with maximising the knowledge and expertise developed in one part of the organisation by transferring it to another. This work has investigated the position of multinational enterprises in the developing global market and through a broad and thorough review of current literature, identified a gap in the knowledge -a tool for helping the assessment of the transfer of technology prior to the transfer process taking place. Using existing models as a foundation, a new framework has been developed with observations from three case study organisations and the incorporation of other relevant literature. To -make use of the new framework to practitioners it leas been used as the basis of a workbook by which the anticipated difficulties can be judged and a priority focus developed. Validation of the 'r ework has been carried out by a panel of industrialists and academics experienced in international technology transfer. The thesis concludes with a series of recommendations for further work. The originality of this work lies in the development by the author of the new pre-transfer assessment Framework. This should provide clear advantages over previous approaches and give way to improving the success of technology transfer projects.
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Izundu, K. C. E. "Environmental impact assessment in Nigeria : A framework for implementation." Thesis, University of Strathclyde, 1987. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.382375.
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Ghumra, Shamir. "Developing a sustainability assessment framework for ready-mixed concrete." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2012. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/12135.
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Assessing the sustainability of construction products can help to identify particular characteristics and benefits which can then assist decision makers by allowing comparisons between products. Existing mechanisms and tools to make such assessments are associated to project-level assessments or have a bias towards environmental issues, rather than incorporating social, environmental and economic aspects of sustainability. The growing popularity of sustainability rating schemes and standards has created an imbalance for product manufacturers that are increasingly seeking ways to gain competitive advantage on the basis of producing more sustainable products. Aggregate Industries, a construction products manufacturer and the Building Research Establishment (BRE) therefore instigated this Engineering Doctorate (EngD) to address this lack of a holistic sustainability assessment methodology for construction products for manufacturers. The EngD research developed a sustainability assessment framework for ready-mixed concrete. The development of the framework was influenced by existing assessment schemes such as the BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) and Ceequal (The Sustainability Assessment Scheme for Civil Engineering projects). The BRE BES 6001 Framework Standard for the Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products was also a factor in this research complimented by primary research. The assessment framework addresses a range of sustainability issues such as community engagement (social), waste (environmental) and whole life cost (economic) amongst others tailored to ready-mixed concrete. These issues are assessed against three product life cycle stages; raw materials; manufacture and use. The outputs of the framework will then inform the manufacturer about areas for improvement and present a profile of each product for a given manufacturing site in a more holistic way than current methods allow. The trialling of the assessment framework both in the UK and Canada has shown that the output of the EngD is a viable mechanism to assess the sustainability of concrete from a manufacturer s perspective. This research has given Aggregate Industries an opportunity to evaluate current objectives and targets within the business and helped to shape the future sustainability strategy. Aspects of the framework are also being considered for inclusion in the future development of the BRE s BES 6001 Framework Standard for the Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products. This EngD has also identified an emergent need for a shift in future focus from individual products to a systems level assessment approach. Product sustainability tends to focus on the embodied impacts whereas the sustainability of construction systems has a much broader focus over the entire life cycle of the system. This area of work will require further research.
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Rajiwade, Swapnil Shankar. "Assessment framework for wireless V2V communication-based ITS applications." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/70767.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 87-91).
Inter-vehicle communication enabled by wireless technology is an emerging area of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). This technology has generated great interest among automobile manufacturers and ITS researchers alike because of its potential to improve safety and non-safety ITS applications by supporting data collection and dissemination at the individual vehicle level. A modelling framework based on a microscopic traffic simulator is presented in this thesis to explore the effects of wireless Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication based ITS applications on traffic performance. Microscopic traffic simulators describe the interaction between drivers and infrastructure at individual vehicle level. The behaviour models in microscopic traffic simulators describe driving decisions like route choice, car-following and lane-changing. The existing behaviour model is extended to incorporate the effect of V2V communication based applications by tying information generated by the application to the behaviour model. A case study on a road network in Singapore with green light prediction application as the V2V communication application is implemented. The car-following model in MITSIMLab is modified to account for speed advisories generated by green light prediction application. The application shows gains in travel time savings and a smoother traffic flow as a result of the green light prediction. Higher improvements across penetration rates were observed at high demand levels. The incremental impact of the application on traffic performance tapers off at higher penetration rates. Drivers responding to the speed advisories also affect vehicles immediately following them. Hence the effective penetration rate of the application is higher than actual penetration rate. The results imply that the green light prediction application would reduce the average number of halts per trip by approximately 10% at existing travel demand. The current model can be extended to test other V2V based ITS applications and to couple with a wireless network simulator to represent wireless data flows more realistically.
by Swapnil Shankar Rajiwade.
S.M.
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Giljum, Stefan, Martin Bruckner, and Aldo Martinez. "Material Footprint Assessment in a Global Input-Output Framework." Wiley, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12214.
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Material flow-based indicators play an important role in indicator sets related to green and resource-efficient growth. This paper examines the global flows of materials and the amounts of materials directly and indirectly necessary to satisfy domestic final demand in different countries world-wide. We calculate the indicator Raw Material Consumption (RMC), also referred to as Material Footprint (MF), by applying a global, multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model based on the GTAP database and extended by material extraction data. We examine world-wide patterns of material extraction and materials embodied in trade and consumption, investigating changes between 1997 and 2007. We find that flows of materials related to international trade have increased by almost 60% between 1997 and 2007. We show that the differences in Material Footprints per capita are huge, ranging from up to 100 tonnes in the rich, oil-exporting countries to values as low as 1.5 to 2 tonnes in some developing countries. We also quantify the differences between the indicators Domestic Material Consumption (DMC) and RMC, illustrating that net material exporters generally have a DMC larger than RMC, while the reverse is observed for net importers. Finally, we confirm the fact that most countries with stable or declining DMCs actually show increasing RMCs, indicating the occurrence of leakage effects, which are not fully captured by DMC. This challenges the world-wide use of DMC as a headline indicator for national material consumption and calls for the consideration of upstream material requirements of international trade flows.
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Le, Guillarme Nicolas. "A game-theoretic planning framework for intentional threat assessment." Caen, 2016. http://www.theses.fr/2016CAEN2046.
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Dans cette thèse, nous considérons le problème de l’évaluation de la menace, une tâche de fusion d’informations de haut niveau dont l'objectif principal est d’assister un décideur dans l'acquisition d'un niveau de conscience de la situation suffisamment élevé pour prendre des décisions appropriées dans un environnement potentiellement hostile, dynamique et incertain. L'évaluation de la menace consiste à prédire l'occurrence d’événements néfastes intentionnels et peut donc être vue comme un cas particulier des problèmes de reconnaissance de l’intention et de prédiction du comportement. L'évaluation de la menace trouve son utilité dans des situations antagonistes, où plusieurs agents tentent d’atteindre des objectifs incompatibles dans un environnement partagé. De telles situations peuvent être modélisées et analysées à l'aide d'outils de la théorie des jeux qui propose un cadre formel pour l’étude des interactions stratégiques entre décideurs rationnels. La principale contribution de cette thèse consiste en un cadre génératif pour l’évaluation de la menace et l'aide à la décision baptisé TARGET (Threat Assessment and Response using GamE-Theory) qui combine une modélisation du comportement d’un agent hostile basée sur la théorie des jeux stochastiques et une méthode de reconnaissance d’intention d'un adversaire par planification inverse. Le problème de reconnaissance d'intention d’un adversaire étant caractérisé par l'hostilité de l'agent observé vis à vis du processus de reconnaissance, nous proposons un ensemble de techniques permettant de rendre notre système robuste à la tromperie et à la dissimulationIn this thesis, we address the problem of threat assessment, a high-level information fusion task whose main objective is to assist a decision maker in achieving a proper level of situation awareness so as to make effective and proactive decisions in possibly hostile, dynamic, and uncertain environments. Threat assessment is the problem of predicting intentional threat events and therefore it can be seen as a specific aspect of the problems of adversarial intention recognition and behavior prediction. Threat assessment is needed in adversarial situations, where several agents are competing to achieve conflicting goals in a shared environment. Adversarial situations can be modeled and analyzed using game theory which provides a formal framework for studying strategic interactions between rational decision makers. The main contribution of this thesis consists of a generative framework for threat assessment and decision support called TARGET (Threat Assessment and Response using GamE-Theory) which combines a game-theoretic model of adversarial behavior and an inverse-planning-based approach to adversarial intention recognition. Adversarial intention recognition is characterized by the hostility of the observed agent to the recognition process. To address this issue, we propose a set of techniques that make our system robust to deception and concealment
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Singh, Karmjit. "A framework for sustainability performance assessment for manufacturing processes." Thesis, Federation University Australia, 2019. http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/169827.
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Sustainable manufacturing methods make it possible to develop products in ways which minimize negative environmental impacts, conserve energy and save natural resources whilst being economically sound. The concepts of sustainability in manufacturing being are still fairly broad, in scope, and need to be more focused and firmly established at the process, machine or factory levels. This project proposes a structure for manufacturing with a main objective to develop a sustainability framework which encompasses various production processes. Structured information models for the seamless flow of information across the design and manufacturing domains, for selected manufacturing processes, are defined. The thesis work identifies key performance indicators (KPIs) for the assessment of manufacturing sustainability and performs analysis of selected unit manufacturing processes and their sub-processes with the aim of proposing a methodology for determining science-based measurements of the manufacturing processes affecting these KPIs. The theoretical foundations established are then used to develop a model that could evaluate sustainability of selected manufacturing processes and their respective process plans providing a basis for inter-process comparison and selection of the most sustainable process plan. The proposed framework is presented in form of a manufacturing planning computer-based package which is designed to to consider different influencing factors such as product information, part geometry, material related physical and processing properties and the manufacturing equipment operating data. The thesis presents a number of case studies which have been published in international journals. The case studies present estimates of the manufacturing sustainability KPIs for a number of production methods. These estimates have been verified with available shop floor data. The work in the thesis makes it possible to establish manufacturing industry equipped to deal the challenges of the future when sustainability will be the major factor up on which the quality of success will be determined.Doctor of Philosophy
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Okanlomo, Vaneshree. "Risk Management in project finance : a financier's assessment framework." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/52284.
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Infrastructure development represents one of the major hindrances to economic growth and social development across all countries worldwide. A one percent increase in GDP is expected in a country with an estimated ten percent increase in infrastructure assets. Private project and structured financing is identified as the most effective tool for the provision of the required infrastructure.
The complexity, formidable risks and highly leveraged nature of project and structured financing transactions account for the mismatch between the numbers of infrastructure financing transactions that reach financial close compared to the available pipeline. Increased literature focusing on the public sector procurer and private sector contractor is available in project and structured financing transactions, but scarce research focuses on the risk assessment processes applied by financiers to the due diligence of transactions.
In this study, 15 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with financing experts representing a diverse set of expertise with varying levels of experience in different markets. ATLAS.ti was used to analyse, code and identify themes in the data collected.
The findings indicate a wide range of risks and scenarios are considered by financiers with the top risks being political or sovereign risk followed by construction risk. From the findings discussed, a financiers generalized risk assessment framework is created that can be applied to a wide range of project financing transactions and markets in context.Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
sn2016
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
MBA
Unrestricted
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Christie, Adrian Troy. "An Impact Assessment and Dependency Management Framework for BPM." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/39286.
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Business Process Management (BPM) is a relatively new development paradigm that takes a high-level approach to coding by leveraging a graphical, “flow chart” aesthetic that allows users to assemble modular tasks into a larger process. The resulting diagrams effectively enshrine the organizations processes into an executable model that provides an objective and transparent view of the process and the activities contained within. In doing so, BPM models serve as both a system to guide employees through proper business procedures as well as documentation of the businesses processes.
Similar to most other software development environments, BPM development platforms possess several features intended to address the needs of code versioning, dependency management and impact assessment. However, due to the unique way that development is done in BPM platforms, the more traditional functionality of these features sometimes renders them ineffective and ill suited to the task of BPM development. Changes to lower level reusable components in these BPM models can result in impacts to diverse processes across an organization that are difficult to predict and onerous to locate.
There is much room for improvement in BPM development tools. This thesis proposes a new framework for dependency management and impact assessment to improve the usability, effectiveness and efficiency. The framework is composed of a Business Process Component Architecture, a Dependency Data Model and an Upgrade Algorithm which are all used to provide increased visibility over dependent processes and superior guidance during upgrade operations.
Several example case scenarios are be used to evaluate our proposed framework. The cases represent progressive degrees of complexity to test the capabilities and robustness of the framework. Overall, the framework was able to appropriately handle the case examples used and showed promise in terms of providing practical effort, time and cost savings for BPM developers. The framework can also provide developers assistance in locating circular dependencies, but is subject to the same limitations as developers when attempting to upgrade these relationships.
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GROSSO, DANIELE. "A framework for integrity assessment of multiscale energy infrastructures." Doctoral thesis, Politecnico di Torino, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11583/2710831.
Full textAbstract:
The climate change phenomena represent a global issue that could significantly impact on world economic and social systems. During last decades, several international bodies and institutions (like the IPCC) developed scientific techniques to analyse the causes and effects of these phenomena, their evolution over time and possible future scenarios. According to these studies, in order to face climate change and air pollutant emissions issues several targets have been hypothesized and proposed. In particular, the ones related to the Paris Agreement (COP21) can be mentioned. These goals require, in the mid/long-term, significant changes in the structure of the energy systems at global level, aiming at achieving their substantial decarbonisation through the so-called “energy transition”. The implementation of this transition could be obtained by means of different pathways. In particular, two extreme options can be identified. On one side, a wide electrification of final uses, coupled with power generation from renewables and long-distance transmission through global interconnections. On the other, small-scale energy systems based on electricity, heat and gas produced by renewables sources, characterized by power generation from wind, solar photovoltaic and small hydro and with a relevant role played by storage systems. It can be expected that the future configuration of the global energy systems will be a mix of these extreme solutions. In every case, however, a crucial role will be played by the infrastructures for supplying, transmitting and distributing energy. For this reason, the integrity of these infrastructures – at all spatial levels (transnational gas and oil pipelines, maritime routes, power lines, district heating networks, etc.) – is a key factor for ensuring the long-term energy transition strategies. The integrity measures the capability of a given infrastructure to perform its function according to what is requested and to be properly managed from several points of view, including safety, environmental protection, maintainability, productivity, etc. Therefore, it is a concept more general than “security”, as it is multi-dimensional. Furthermore, the integrity is directly related to the development of infrastructures. The evolution of the current energy systems in the sense of the energy transition needs to plan the infrastructures architecture according to criteria that have to be not only technological, but also able to consider all the possible issues that can threat their integrity. In a long-term perspective, these issues should not be investigated through ex-post analyses, but they should be taken into account as much as possible in the design phase. Starting from this, the main goal of the doctoral project has been the identification of a multiscale approach for assessing the integrity of energy infrastructures. A two-dimensional scheme has been proposed, considering different spatial scales (energy corridors, transmission/distribution infrastructures, local networks) and kind of threats (natural, accidental, intentional) and assessing the impacts on the integrity dimensions (technological, geopolitical, environmental, economic) In particular, five case studies have been considered, covering all the considered spatial scales with respect to different integrity dimensions and threats. They focused on the geopolitical supply security, the resilience of distribution infrastructures, the effects of renewables penetration, the reliability of district heating networks and the impact of innovative vectors on the security. The obtained results showed that this multidimensional approach can be useful in defining guidelines for the integrity assessment and the development of energy infrastructure under a holistic perspective, in order to support the policy decision-making about strategical investments and their prioritization, planning, management, and identification and ranking of criticalities.
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Marques, Isabel Maria Maia da Silva Bento. "Avaliação da qualidade organizacional em cuidados de saúde primários , através da Common Assessment Framework - o caso da Região Alentejo." Master's thesis, Universidade de Évora, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10174/14051.
Full textAbstract:
A investigação versa sobre a análise da aplicabilidade do modelo de autoavaliação CAF nos Cuidados de Saúde Primários - nas Unidades Funcionais dos Centros de Saúde da Região Alentejo. Adaptando instrumentos da CAF foram aplicados inquéritos junto de profissionais de saúde, em Março de 2011, com a finalidade de realizar um diagnóstico dos serviços em estudo. As variáveis foram definidas a partir de subcritérios dos critérios do referido modelo, designadamente “liderança”, “planeamento e estratégia”, “pessoas”, “processos” e “resultados relativos às pessoas”. Participaram 77 profissionais de saúde, dos quais 20,8% médicos, 36,4% enfermeiros, 24,7% técnicos administrativos, 15,6% assistentes operacionais e 2,6% de outros profissionais de saúde. Os resultados permitiram realizar o diagnóstico desses serviços de saúde onde se identificaram áreas fortes e áreas de melhoria. Estas últimas permitiram delinear sugestões de melhoria, nomeadamente, a divulgação da missão, visão e valores; o envolvimento dos profissionais de todos os grupos no planeamento e estratégia; a clarificação da estratégia para todos através do trabalho em equipa e da implementação efetiva de canais de comunicação, como reuniões de serviço; a avaliação sistemática da satisfação dos profissionais; a melhoria do equipamento informático e sistema de comunicações; a implementação de ferramentas de autoavaliação e, por último, a formação em gestão da Qualidade; ABSTRACT: The investigation concerns the analysis of the applicability of the CAF self-assessment model in Primary Health Care - Functional Units in the Health Centres of the Alentejo region. Adapting instruments were applied CAF surveys of health professionals in March 2011 with the purpose of making a diagnosis of the services under study. The variables were defined using the criteria of this sub model and in particular "leadership", "planning and strategy," "people", "processes" and "results for the people." Participated 77 health professionals, of which 20.8% doctors, nurses 36.4%, 24.7% administrative staff, operating assistants 15.6% and 2.6% other health professionals. The results allowed us to make a diagnosis of health services where they have identified areas of strength and areas for improvement. These have to outline suggestions for improvements, especially in the dissemination of mission, vision and values, the involvement of professionals from all groups in planning and strategy, clarifying the strategy for all through teamwork and effective implementation of channels communication, such as business meetings, systematic evaluation of professional satisfaction, improved equipment and communications system, the implementation of self-assessment tools and, finally, training in quality management.
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Correia, Maria Leonarda Pereira. "Gestão da qualidade e o modelo Common Assessment Framework (CAF). Reflexão sobre a evolução recente nos Serviços Académicos da Universidade de Évora." Master's thesis, Universidade de Évora, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10174/19236.
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As expetativas e exigências crescentes dos cidadãos face ao serviço público introduziram uma nova orientação nos processos de reforma e modernização administrativa. É neste contexto que surge o modelo de autoavaliação Common Assessment Framework (CAF), que está essencialmente direcionado para a administração pública, com o fim de promover a melhoria contínua dos serviços. Neste estudo pretende-se analisar a aplicabilidade da CAF como ferramenta de autoavaliação dos serviços públicos nos Serviços Académicos da Universidade de Évora (SAC), bem como verificar o impacto que a aplicação da CAF teve nos SAC, após o estudo realizado por Nogueira (2008), e efetuar um diagnóstico junto dos alunos, colaboradores e gestores para avaliar os processos desenvolvidos, bem como averiguar o seu grau de satisfação. Para atingir os objetivos propostos foi aplicado um inquérito por questionário junto dos alunos, colaboradores e gestores dos SAC. Os resultados obtidos permitiram extrair os pontos fortes (e.g. bons procedimentos para acolhimento e integração dos colaboradores, gestores não resistentes à mudança), evidenciar os pontos fracos (e.g. tempo de obtenção de respostas às solicitações efetuadas, atendimento telefónico desadequado), e enumerar as sugestões de melhoria para o serviço (e.g. maior número de funcionários a fazer atendimento, horários de abertura e de atendimento mais alargados); ABSTRACT: Expectations and increased demands of citizens on the public service introduced a new orientation in the reform and administrative modernization. lt is in this context that the model of self-assessment Common Assessment Framework (CAF), which is primarily directed to the government, in order to promote continuous improvement of services. This study aims to analyze the applicability of the CAF as a self-assessment tool of public services at the Academic Services of the University of Évora (SAC) and verify the impact that the implementation of the CAF had the SAC after the study by Nogueira (2008) and make a diagnosis with the students, employees and managers to assess the processes developed and ascertain their degree of satisfaction. To achieve the proposed objectives a questionnaire was applied to students, employees and managers of SAC. The results allowed to draw on the strengths (eg: good procedures for reception and integration of employees, not resistant to change managers), highlight the weaknesses (eg: time to obtain answers to made requests, inadequate telephone service), and list suggestions improvement for the service (eg: greater number of employees to service, opening hours and more extensive service).
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Guidosh, Jacob Andrew. "The use of Life Cycle Assessment through an Objective Framework Constructed by Simulation." Youngstown State University / OhioLINK, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1252941644.
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Dadosky, Edward J. "Interagency Modeling Atmospheric Assessment Center local jurisdiction IMAAC operations framework /." Thesis, Monterey, California : Naval Postgraduate School, 2010. http://edocs.nps.edu/npspubs/scholarly/theses/2010/Mar/10Mar%5FDadosky.pdf.
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Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Homeland Security and Defense))--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2010.Thesis Advisor(s): Bergin, Richard ; Josefek, Robert. "March 2010." Description based on title screen as viewed on April 26, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Interagency Modeling Atmpspheric Assessment Center (IMAAC), Plume Model, NARAC, Cincinnati Fire Department. Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-103). Also available in print.
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Márquez, Valle Patricia. "A confidence framework for the assessment of optical flow performance." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/305105.
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L’Optical Flow (OF) és l’input d’una gran varietat de Sistemes de Suport a Decisions
(DSS) com ara assistència a la conducció, guia UAV o diagnosis mèdic. En aquestes
situacions, l’absència de ground truth ens obliga a avaluar la qualitat de l’OF calculat
mitjançant quantitats calculades a partir de les seqüències o bé a partir del mateix
OF. Aquestes quantitats es coneixen generalment com a Mesures de Confiança (CM).
Encara que tinguem una mesura de confiança, necessitem alguna eina per tal d’avaluar
la seva capacitat per descartar píxels de la imatge que tenen tendència a tindre error.
Els mètodes actuals només aporten una avaluació descriptiva del rendiment de les
CM, el problema és que aquests mètodes no són capaços de comparar equitativament
les diferents CM i OF. Així doncs, necessitem definir una metodologia que avalu¨ı el
rendiment de les tècniques d’OF.
Aquesta tesi aporta la definició d’una metodologia que ens permet decidir quines
parelles ”optical flow - mesura de confiança” (OF-CM) estan millor preparades per a
definir una cota de l’error de l’OF donat un nivell de confiança per a un DSS. Per tal
de definir aquesta metodologia, la tesis engloba els següents punts:
• Marcadors qualificatius. Es presenten 3 gràfiques descriptives que avaluen
de forma visual les capacitats de CM d’acotar l’error de l’OF. A més a més de
les gràfiques descriptives, donada una gràfica representant la parella OF-CM,
donem una qualificació automàtica que categoritza la gràfica donat el tipus de
perfil.
• Metodologia estadística. Es proporciona una metodologia comparativa que
permet determinar quina és la millor parella OF-CM per a acotar l’error de
l’OF, aquesta metodologia consta de dues parts. Primer s’avalua el valor predictiu
de la CM mitjançant la gràfica descriptiva. Després, per a una mostra
de gràfiques descriptives calculades sobre unes seqüències de training, s’obté
una corba genèrica que es podrà fer servir per a seqüències que no tenen ground
truth. En el segon pas, s’avalua la corba genèrica obtinguda i les seves capacitats
per a reflectir el valor predictiu de la mesura de confiança mitjançant ANOVA’s.
La metodologia presentada mostra el potencial en aplicació clínica per a DSS. En
concret, s’ha analitzat l’impacte de diferents artefactes en la imatge com ara soroll o
deteriorament en el resultat final d’OF per a imatges del cor. També s’ha aplicat per
a millorar la navegació dintre l’arbre bronquial en una broncoscòpia.Optical Flow (OF) is the input of a wide range of decision support systems such as car driver assistance, UAV guiding or medical diagnose. In these real situations, the absence of ground truth forces to assess OF quality using quantities computed from either sequences or the computed optical flow itself. These quantities are generally known as Confidence Measures, CM. Even if we have a proper confidence measure we still need a way to evaluate its ability to discard pixels with an OF prone to have a large error. Current approaches only provide a descriptive evaluation of the CM performance but such approaches are not capable to fairly compare different confidence measures and optical flow algorithms. Thus, it is of prime importance to define a framework and a general road map for the evaluation of optical flow performance. This thesis provides a framework able to decide which pairs ”optical flow - con- fidence measure” (OF-CM) are best suited for optical flow error bounding given a confidence level determined by a decision support system. To design this framework we cover the following points: • Descriptive scores. As a first step, we summarize and analyze the sources of inaccuracies in the output of optical flow algorithms. Second, we present several descriptive plots that visually assess CM capabilities for OF error bounding. In addition to the descriptive plots, given a plot representing OF-CMcapabilities to bound the error, we provide a numeric score that categorizes the plot according to its decreasing profile, that is, a score assessing CM performance. • Statistical framework. We provide a comparison framework that assesses the best suited OF-CM pair for error bounding that uses a two stage cascade process. First of all we assess the predictive value of the confidence measures by means of a descriptive plot. Then, for a sample of descriptive plots computed over training frames, we obtain a generic curve that will be used for sequences with no ground truth. As a second step, we evaluate the obtained general curve and its capabilities to really reflect the predictive value of a confidence measure using the variability across train frames by means of ANOVA. The presented framework has shown its potential in the application on clinical decision support systems. In particular, we have analyzed the impact of the different image artifacts such as noise and decay to the output of optical flow in a cardiac diagnose system and we have improved the navigation inside the bronchial tree on bronchoscopy.
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Coleman, Alfred. "Developing an e-health framework through electronic healthcare readiness assessment." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1519.
Full textAbstract:
The major socio-economic development challenges facing most African countries include economic diversification, poverty, unemployment, diseases and the unsustainable use of natural resources. The challenge of quality healthcare provisioning is compounded by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Sub Saharan Africa. However, there is a great potential in using electronic healthcare (e-health) as one of the supportive systems within the healthcare sector to address these pressing challenges facing healthcare systems in developing countries, including solving inequalities in healthcare delivery between rural and urban hospitals/clinics. The purpose of this study was to compile a Provincial E-health Framework (PEHF) based on the feedback from electronic healthcare readiness assessments conducted in selected rural and urban hospitals/clinics in the North West Province in South Africa. The e-healthcare readiness assessment was conducted in the light of effective use of ICT in patient healthcare record system, consultation among healthcare professionals, prescription of medication, referral of patients and training of healthcare professionals in ICT usage. The study was divided into two phases which were phases 1 and 2 and a qualitative design supported by a case study approach was used. Data were collected using different techniques to enhance triangulation of data. The techniques included group interviews, qualitative questionnaires, photographs, document analysis and expert opinions. The outcome of the assessment led to the compilation of the PEHF which was based on Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). SOA was chosen to integrate the hospitals/clinics‟ ICT infrastructure yet allowing each hospital/clinic the autonomy to control its own ICT environment. To assist hospitals/clinics integrate their ICT resources, this research study proposed an Infrastructure Network Architecture which clustered hospitals/clinics to share common ICT infrastructure instead of duplicating these resources. Furthermore, processes of the e-health services (e-patient health IV record system, e-consultation system, e-prescription system, e-referral system and e-training system) were provided to assist in the implementation of the PEHF. Finally, a set of guidelines were provided by the research study to aid the implementation of the PEHF.
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Okere, Irene Onyekachi. "A control framework for the assessment of information security culture." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1019861.
Full textAbstract:
The modern organisation relies heavily on information to function effectively. With such reliance on information, it is vital that information be protected from both internal (employees) and external threats. The protection of information or information security to a large extent depends on the behaviour of humans (employees) in the organisation. The behaviour of employees is one of the top information security issues facing organisations as the human factor is regarded as the weakest link in the security chain. To address this human factor many researchers have suggested the fostering of a culture of information security so that information security becomes second nature to employees. Information security culture as defined for this research study exists in four levels namely artefacts, espoused values, shared tacit assumptions and information security knowledge. An important step in the fostering of an information security culture is the assessment of the current state of such a culture. Gaps in current approaches for assessing information security culture were identified and this research study proposes the use of a control framework to address the identified gaps. This research study focuses on the assessment of information security culture and addresses 5 research objectives namely 1) to describe information security culture in the field of information security, 2) to determine ways to foster information security culture in an organisation, 3) to demonstrate the gap in current approaches used to assess information security culture, 4) to determine the components that could be used for the assessment of information security culture for each of the culture’s underlying levels and 5) to describe a process for the assessment of information security culture for all four levels. This research study follows a qualitative approach utilising a design science strategy and multi-method qualitative data collection techniques including literature review, qualitative content analysis, argumentation, and modelling techniques. The research methods provide a means for the interpretation of the data and the development of the proposed control framework.
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au, T. Wallington@murdoch edu, and Tabatha Jean Wallington. "Civic Environmental Pragmatism: A Dialogical Framework for Strategic Environmental Assessment." Murdoch University, 2002. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20040428.144248.
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Questions of uncertainty and value conflict are increasingly pervasive challenges confronting policy makers seeking to address the range of environmental problems generated by contemporary technological systems. Yet these questions are ultimately political and moral in nature, and require a framework of strategic environmental
assessment (SEA) that is marked by informed and democratic civic governance. Reflecting this, the original, civic purposes of environmental assessment (EA) embraced science and public participation as interdependent elements in the creation of more sustaining forms of human-nature interaction.
However, formal models of EA have forsaken meaningful democratic engagement to technique. Based on the instrumentalist assumption that better science automatically leads to better policy, EA has externalised the civic source of political energy that underpins its environmental expertise. Moreover, debates become polarised when science is uncritically imported into the adversarial forums of interest-based politics,so that environmental science is increasingly unable to support political action. I shall argue that the revolutionary potential of SEA to transform the policy process rests upon a recovery of its original, civic purposes.
My thesis is that a deeper understanding of the relationship between scientific knowledge and political action is required if SEA is to be rigorous, and also relevant to public concerns. Philosophical pragmatism contributes epistemological resources vital to this task. By situating knowledge in the context of practice, and by recognising the dialogical, judgmental nature of rationality, the practical philosophy of pragmatism reclaims the contextually embedded nature of inquiry. When science is embedded in a wider ethical context, the meaning and purposes of environmental knowledge become central questions of policy.
The procedural ethics of both liberal and Habermasian politics cannot address these questions, however, because they relegate questions of the public good to the realm of individual choice. Instead, I argue that public dialogue, guided by a praxisoriented virtue ethics, is required to recover objective environmental goods in the policy process. I also argue that Aristotlean rhetoric, with its focus on the credibility of expertise, is the mode of persuasive argument most appropriate for dialogical public forums. The public philosophy of civic environmental pragmatism is therefore presented as a richer theoretical framework for understanding the contribution of both experts and citizens in the development of environmental knowledge for policy. As a dialogical framework for SEA, civic environmental pragmatism constructively combines the critical/normative and instrumental/descriptive aspects of policy inquiry, both of which are required in the development of socially robust knowledge and politically feasible policy decisions.
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Majety, Ramesh. "Procedural framework for product life cycle assessment using enterprise approach." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1996. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp04/MQ30916.pdf.
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Murphy, Raegan. "Exploring a meta-theoretical framework for dynamic assessment and intelligence." Thesis, Pretoria : [s.n.], 2007. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-09302007-162044.
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Ahmad, Itrat. "An assessment framework for empowering students in a multicultural society." Thesis, McGill University, 1995. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=23316.
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The purpose of this study is to describe, apply and critique an assessment framework, namely, 'Student-Centred Assessment' based on concepts presented by Stiggins (1994). The theoretical basis is found in the literature dealing with multiculturalism and education, the forces promoting change in assessment, and the current status of assessment methods.The analysis of the 'Student-Centred Assessment' reveals that in such a framework there is a constant interaction between the student and the assessor leading to student engagement and that there is a need for changes in the assessment practices. Of the weaknesses noted, adapting tools for assessment is an ongoing challenge and the time needed to apply the framework effectively is a stressful problem. Based on these findings, various recommendations for practice and future research are made.
The study examines the assessment of students in a regular grade three class, divided equally into a control and an experimental group randomly. Sources of data include documents, reports, and interviews with administrators, educators, and students. The control group is assessed by the classroom teacher according to norm-based tests. This teacher and the resource teacher then assess the experimental group by means of the methods outlined in the framework, to determine the inter-scorer reliability. Thereafter, the scores of the control group are compared to those of the experimental group to ensure internal validity and to analyze the framework. As well, interviews with school personnel ascertain the current status of assessment methods including sources for empowerment.
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Singprasong, Rachanee. "A framework for rapid problem assessment in healthcare delivery systems." Thesis, Brunel University, 2012. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/7617.
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Problems in healthcare are difficult to comprehend due to complexity, involvement of multiple stakeholders in decision making and fragmented structure of delivery systems. Major Problem Structuring Methods (PSMs) have been used to aid problem understanding which, in principle, can provide greater clarity to strategic problems and engage diverse decision makers using transparent representation that capture differing perceptions of problems. In reality, PSMs can be difficult in accurately representing problems, limited in highlighting improvement opportunities due to non-intuitive visual representations and requirements for facilitators and stakeholders to be experts in tools used. This research aims to address this gap by developing a framework, taking into account characteristics of healthcare delivery systems, advantages and limitations of PSMs with an aim of providing accurate and holistic representation of delivery workflow, so as to promote problem understanding in a rapid manner. The framework, termed CARE, first establishes nature of problem and a commonly agreed problem statement along with an understanding of stakeholder involvement and operating regulations. It then sets specific guidelines for data collection, representation, verification and validation from stakeholders and provides methodology for data analysis which allows facilitator insight into possible flaws in workflow. A case study approach is used to test effectiveness of CARE across two different healthcare settings, each involving a different nature of problem. Implementation of CARE leads to improved participation and ownership amongst stakeholders, ease of facilitation during individual or multidisciplinary meetings, intuitive and informative representation of workflow, minimized time and effort for implementation and minimized dependencies on learning new tools and terminologies. A post mortem indicates the positive impact of CARE on services rendered to the patients, leading to an increase in patient satisfaction and workflow efficiencies. The research concludes by noting the contributions and lessons learnt from this research for healthcare practitioners and possible future work.
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Kucukvar, Murat. "Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment Framework for the U.S. Built Environment." Doctoral diss., University of Central Florida, 2013. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/5965.
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The overall goals of this dissertation are to investigate the sustainability of the built environment, holistically, by assessing its Triple Bottom Line (TBL): environmental, economic, and social impacts, as well as propose cost-effective, socially acceptable, and environmentally benign policies using several decision support models. This research is anticipated to transform life cycle assessment (LCA) of the built environment by using a TBL framework, integrated with economic input-output analysis, simulation, and multi-criteria optimization tools. The major objectives of the outlined research are to (1) build a system-based TBL sustainability assessment framework for the sustainable built environment, by (a) advancing a national TBL-LCA model which is not available for the United States of America; (b) extending the integrated sustainability framework through environmental, economic, and social sustainability indicators; and (2) develop a system-based analysis toolbox for sustainable decisions including Monte Carlo simulation and multi-criteria compromise programming.
When analyzing the total sustainability impacts by each U.S. construction sector, “Residential Permanent Single and Multi-Family Structures" and "Other Non-residential Structures" are found to have the highest environmental, economic, and social impacts compared to other construction sectors. The analysis results also show that indirect suppliers of construction sectors have the largest sustainability impacts compared to on-site activities. For example, for all U.S. construction sectors, on-site construction processes are found to be responsible for less than 5 % of total water consumption, whereas about 95 % of total water use can be attributed to indirect suppliers. In addition, Scope 3 emissions are responsible for the highest carbon emissions compared to Scope 1 and 2. Therefore, using narrowly defined system boundaries by ignoring supply chain-related impacts can result in underestimation of TBL sustainability impacts of the U.S. construction industry.
Residential buildings have higher shares in the most of the sustainability impact categories compared to other construction sectors. Analysis results revealed that construction phase, electricity use, and commuting played important role in much of the sustainability impact categories. Natural gas and electricity consumption accounted for 72% and 78% of the total energy consumed in the U.S. residential buildings. Also, the electricity use was the most dominant component of the environmental impacts with more than 50% of greenhouse gases emitted and energy used through all life stages. Furthermore, electricity generation was responsible for 60% of the total water withdrawal of residential buildings, which was even greater than the direct water consumption in residential buildings. In addition, construction phase had the largest share in income category with 60% of the total income generated through residential building's life cycle. Residential construction sector and its supply chain were responsible for 36% of the import, 40% of the gross operating surplus, and 50% of the gross domestic product. The most sensitive parameters were construction activities and its multiplier in most the sustainability impact categories.
In addition, several emerging pavement types are analyzed using a hybrid TBL-LCA framework. Warm-mix Asphalts (WMAs) did not perform better in terms of environmental impacts compared to Hot-mix Asphalt (HMA). Asphamin&"174; WMA was found to have the highest environmental and socio-economic impacts compared to other pavement types. Material extractions and processing phase had the highest contribution to all environmental impact indicators that shows the importance of cleaner production strategies for pavement materials. Based on stochastic compromise programming results, in a balanced weighting situation, Sasobit&"174; WMA had the highest percentage of allocation (61%), while only socio-economic aspects matter, Asphamin&"174; WMA had the largest share (57%) among the WMA and HMA mixtures. The optimization results also supported the significance of an increased WMA use in the United States for sustainable pavement construction.
Consequently, the outcomes of this dissertation will advance the state of the art in built environment sustainability research by investigating novel efficient methodologies capable of offering optimized policy recommendations by taking the TBL impacts of supply chain into account. It is expected that the results of this research would facilitate better sustainability decisions in the adoption of system-based TBL thinking in the construction field.Ph.D.
Doctorate
Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering
Engineering and Computer Science
Civil Engineering
50
Vakili-Ardebili, Ali. "Development of an assessment framework for eco-building design indicators." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.425454.
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