Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Engineering thinking'
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Coleman, Emma Elizabeth. "Comparisons of Design Thinking for Engineering Education." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/85867.
Full textMaster of Science
Design thinking is a way of thinking about the design process which places the user at the center of the design. Thinking about design in this way is a vital ability for engineers and other design professionals to develop because it enables them to solve “wicked” problems like sustainable development challenges. Wicked problems are those which are difficult to solve due to the number of conflicting components involved. Prior research has found that design thinkers are more prevalent among engineering students in their first year of study than among students in other majors. However, engineering education does not attribute much attention to the development of creative ability which could cause the design thinking ability of engineering students in their final year of study to be worse than the ability of those in their first year, as well as worse than the ability of students who study other design disciplines like architecture. This study compared the design thinking abilities of engineering students in their final year of study to engineering students in their first year and to architecture students in their final year. The goal of making these comparisons was to explore if engineering education helps or hinders the development of design thinking. A survey with nine questions related to design thinking was distributed nationwide. The data from the survey was collected and statistically analyzed. The results showed that the design thinking ability of engineering students in their final year was significantly lower than the ability of first year engineering students and significantly lower than the ability of final year architecture students. A decrease in design thinking ability between freshmen and senior year must be addressed by engineering educators. The National Academy of Engineers and industry leaders are calling for the development of engineers who are design thinkers, and the results of this paper suggest that some changes may need to occur within the engineering education curriculum to accommodate this need.
Mccord, Rachel. "Thinking About Thinking in Study Groups: Studying Engineering Students' Use of Metacognition in Naturalistic Setting." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/49774.
Full textPh. D.
Cardella, Monica E. "Engineering mathematics : an investigation of students' mathematical thinking from a cognitive engineering perspective /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/10692.
Full textWang, Chao. "An Application of Lean Thinking to the Furniture Engineering Process." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/42442.
Full textMaster of Science
Campbell, Christopher David. "Evolution in engineering dispositions and thinking among culturally diverse students in an undergraduate engineering programme." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/54122.
Full textEducation, Faculty of
Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of
Graduate
Hixson, Cory Allen. "Exploring Engineering Faculty Members' Experiences with University Commercialization Utilizing Systems Thinking." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/72228.
Full textPh. D.
Hu, Mo. "Neuroscience for Engineering Sustainability: Measuring Cognition During Design Ideation and Systems Thinking Among Students in Engineering." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/91399.
Full textM. S.
Wedemalm, Manfred. "Learning platform for training critical thinking." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för informationsteknologi, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-448542.
Full textDunford, Charlotte Natalie. "Making systems thinking routine systems engineering capability improvement in Rolls-Royce plc." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2015. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.702498.
Full textSmith, Lucille. "Student experiences of learning in a systems thinking course." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5471.
Full textSingh, Pushpinder 1972-2006. "EM-ONE : an architecture for reflective commonsense thinking." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/33926.
Full textIncludes bibliographical references (leaves 147-152).
This thesis describes EM-ONE, an architecture for commonsense thinking capable of reflective reasoning about situations involving physical, social, and mental dimensions. EM-ONE uses as its knowledge base a library of commonsense narratives, each describing the physical, social, and mental activity that occurs during an interaction between several actors. EM-ONE reasons with these narratives by applying "mental critics," procedures that debug problems that exist in the outside world or within EM- ONE itself. Mental critics draw upon commonsense narratives to suggest courses of action, methods for deliberating about the circumstances and consequences of those actions, and--when things go wrong-ways to reflect upon and debug the activity of previously invoked mental critics. Mental critics are arranged into six layers, the reactive, deliberative, reflective, self-reflective, self-conscious, and self-ideals layers. The selection of mental critics within these six layers is itself guided by a separate collection of meta-level critics that recognize what overall problem-type presently confronts the system. EM-ONE was developed and tested within an artificial life domain where simulated robotic actors face concrete physical and social problems.
(cont.) A detailed scenario is presented where EM-ONE enables two such actors to work together to build a table by engaging reactive, deliberative, and reflective processes operating across the physical, social, and mental realms.
by Push Singh.
Ph.D.
Dolak, Jessica. "Enabling process improvements through systems thinking." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/37128.
Full textIncludes bibliographical references (p. 78-79).
Manufacturing organizations around the world strive to improve processes with varying degrees of realization. There is no right way or latest and greatest process that can guarantee success, therefore the approach, and not necessarily the process, is critical. Since every process improvement project is different, using the systems thinking approach decreases the risk of failure as the implementer(s) is/are more aware of critical items on the fringe which might otherwise be neglected. Process metrics are vital for many reasons including motivating employees, determining the level of need for process improvement, and evaluating the outcome of a process improvement project. When evaluating whether a project should be pursued, the expected results on the subsystem and other subsystems should be estimated and tied to the highest level metric, which ultimately should equate to bottom line impact. This evaluation technique ensures a positive impact on the entire system, rather than producing only a subsystem optimum. A subsystem metric indicates a project's success through the use of a hypothesis test. This usage requires that the subsystem metric, which will be used to measure a process improvement, must be stable before initiating the project.
(cont.) The individual, team, and organization all play a vital role in a company embracing systems thinking. Individuals and teams need to keep an open mind to issues outside the focus department and accept and encourage involvement of cross-functional representatives on process improvement teams. An organization where systems thinking is integral becomes a learning organization and has a higher percentage of successful projects through a systematic evaluation and approach to projects. To maintain the systems thinking culture, an organization as a whole must encourage the hiring of individuals with varied experiences and who believe in systems thinking.
by Jessica Dolak.
S.M.
M.B.A.
Flint, Shayne, and shayne flint@anu edu au. "Aspect-Oriented Thinking - An approach to bridging the disciplinary divides." The Australian National University. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, 2006. http://thesis.anu.edu.au./public/adt-ANU20080731.204756.
Full textCarmichael, Christine (Erst). "Exploration of critical thinking in environmental subjects." University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Education, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/2100/420.
Full textCarmichael, Christine. "Exploration of critical thinking in environmental subjects /." Electronic version, 2006. http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/dspace/handle/2100/420.
Full textChung, Kristie (Kristie J. ). "Applying systems thinking to healthcare data cybersecurity." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/105307.
Full textCataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 85-90).
Since the HITECH Act of 2009, adoption of Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems in US healthcare organizations has increased significantly. Along with the rapid increase in usage of EHR, cybercrimes are on the rise as well. Two recent cybercrime cases from early 2015, the Anthem and Premera breaches, are examples of the alarming increase of cybercrimes in this domain. Although modem Information Technology (IT) systems have evolved to become very complex and dynamic, cybersecurity strategies have remained static. Cyber attackers are now adopting more adaptive, sophisticated tactics, yet the cybersecurity counter tactics have proven to be inadequate and ineffective. The objective of this thesis is to analyze the recent Anthem security breach to assess the vulnerabilities of Anthem's data systems using current cybersecurity frameworks and guidelines and the Systems-Theoretic Accident Model and Process (STAMP) method. The STAMP analysis revealed Anthem's cybersecurity strategy needs to be reassessed and redesigned from a systems perspective using a holistic approach. Unless our society and government understand cybersecurity from a sociotechnical perspective, we will never be equipped to protect valuable information and will always lose this battle.
by Kristie Chung.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
Wade, Simon Alastair Randall. "Towards a model managing job change : a system thinking approach." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5457.
Full textThe background of my project was a promotion within the same company that necessitated relocation from one city to another, and also a change in job focus. Whilst both jobs remained in the technical domain, the first was rooted in quality management and improvement at a plant level, whereas the second involved specialized technical consulting across the whole organization. My notion was that a study of this change could improve my personal situation as well as my understanding and management of personal change. My notion was also that I would be able to experientially learn how to improve my practice of managing change in general.
Tan, Peihao Raymond. "Applying systems thinking towards countering hybrid warfare." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/121799.
Full textCataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 121-124).
Carl von Clausewitz, a famous Prussian general and military theorist asserted that war's nature of being violent, interactive, and fundamentally political, does not change - only its character does. According to Clausewitz, the character of war is a dynamic phenomenon that manifests differently with the "spirit" of each age. In our current digital age, technology has heavily influenced interactions, including warfare. In addition to boosting traditional military means, technology has enabled rapid and widespread weaponization of social, information and infrastructural instruments for political coercion. A rising trend of combining national instruments of power to wage war simultaneously across the political, military, economic, social, information and infrastructural domains is a rapidly emerging threat, characteristic of modem "hybrid wars" being fought today. Traditional military-centric defense policies and strategies are ill-prepared to address such threats that deliberately operate in the "grey zone", playing on ambiguity and tailoring coercion to remain just below detection and response thresholds. In this research, a combination of literature review, descriptive study, inductive approach, normative research, case study and systems thinking are applied to analyze the hybrid warfare threat and then construct a suitable response framework, treating it as system with interrelated constituent parts, synergistically working together over time, within the wider international context, to deliver an emergent counter hybrid warfare capability.
by Peihao Raymond Tan.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
S.M.inEngineeringandManagement Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program
Rush, Monica R. "Creative thinking in engineering education : lessons from students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/52753.
Full textThis electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 80-83).
Engineers have deemed creative thinking a necessary skill in their line of work, and ABET, the accreditation board for engineering schools, can evaluate a program based on how it attempts to teach it in its courses. And yet, many students and professors feel that creative thinking is a skill often overlooked by the traditional engineering curriculum. This thesis investigates student acquisition of creative thinking skills in four engineering design courses taught under the Mechanical Engineering and the Aeronautics/Astronautics Departments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Quantitative research methods (surveys, assessments) and qualitative methods (interviews, focus groups) are combined to identify factors that influence student creativity in the classroom and retention and use of creative thinking skills beyond the classroom. Student reflections are used to tie theories of creativity with educational theory on student learning. Common themes discussed by students in relation to creativity include the interactive lecture and lab environments, the involvement of the professors and confidence and hands-on practice. Data shows the relationship between perceptions of team creativity and individual creative development. Recommendations on course structure and supportive institutional policies encouraging creative classroom environments are made based on the experiences of the students and teaching staff of these courses.
by Monica R. Rush.
S.M.in Technology and Policy
Chaim, Omar Cheidde. "Developing competences through individual assessments in an Engineering Education context: creativity and critical thinking." Universidade de São Paulo, 2016. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/18/18157/tde-17012017-105102/.
Full textAs demandas da sociedade de conhecimento sobre os profissionais de engenharia são bastante diferentes daquelas presentes no século passado, para atende-las a educação em engenharia deve se adaptar. A acelerada evolução tecnológica e rápida mudança em contextos sociais e econômicos reforça a importância de duas competências que são chave nas profissões de engenharia, pensamento crítico e criatividade. O objetivo deste trabalho é promover através da compreensão do papel e da utilização de técnicas e ferramentas de avaliações individuais o desenvolvimento de ambas competências no contexto de engenharia. Para promover práticas de avaliação individual que permitam tal desenvolvimento, este trabalho se iniciou com revisões bibliográficas dos principais conceitos relacionados às teorias de educação, desenvolvimento de competências, motivação, demandas de engenharia e teorias de avaliação. Com uma compreensão mais profunda sobre estes conceitos inicia-se uma discussão das principais práticas que possam agregar valor à educação em engenharia e ao desenvolvimento de pensamento crítico e criatividade neste contexto. Como resultado de pesquisa são propostas estratégias para incorporar práticas em cursos de engenharia, considerando tanto os objetivos do processo educacional como limitações como tempo para preparação e aplicação de atividades, tamanhos de sala de aula, infraestrutura e disponibilidade de tarefas.
Liang, Helen. "Constraint-based thinking towards enhancing complex interdisciplinary designing." Thesis, University of Bath, 2015. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.665435.
Full textBaysal, A. "The value of systems thinking in operations management : a case study." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8486.
Full textThis thesis demonstrates the differences between the traditional reductionist approach and the systemic approach to problem solving, and is based on a case study in the manufacturing field. It explains how each approach interprets real life problem situations differently, and emphasises the superiority of systemic approach.
Bartle, Samantha. "Establishing a new biofuel crop using System Thinking." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/86519.
Full textENGLISH ABSTRACT: The complexity of adopting a new crop-based biodiesel feedstock into South Africa given the prevailing environmental, economic and social concerns facing the country are addressed in this study by utilising a Systems Thinking approach. Solaris is a new variety of Tobacco developed specifically as an energy crop over the last twelve years by Italian companies Plantechno and Sunchem. Small-scale trials have been underway over the last year in the Loskop Valley farming community in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. These trials have been managed by the newly-formed local entity, Toboil (Pty) Ltd. In order to assess the viability of introducing Solaris into Loskop in terms of addressing the current diesel and electricity needs of the community and larger over-arching biofuel goals of South Africa, the full System Dynamic Modelling process was employed. This included significant research, stakeholder engagement, a Systems Thinking workshop as well as model development and simulation using the System Dynamics programming tool, Vensim. Following the simulation of various scenarios, it was determined that in order for Solaris implementation to have the greatest impact on the diesel and electricity independence desires of the community, as well as maximising job creation and avoided greenhouse gas emissions, the first five to ten years of implementation may only achieve low to moderate profitability. It was further concluded that if crop-based biofuels are to help meet the rural development goals of South Africa then significant investment and skills transfer is required. In order to address both of these, a modular development process is advocated and should be aided and mentored by members of the commercial farming industry.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die kompleksiteit van die aanvaarding van ‘n nuwe oes-gebaseerde bio diesel roumateriaal in Suid-Afrika in die heersende omgewings-, ekonomiese- en sosiale kommer wat die land ervaar, word in hierdie studie aangespreek deur gebruik te maak van ‘n Sistemiese Denke Benadering (Systems Thinking approach) Solaris is ‘n nuwe variasie Tabak wat deur twee Italiaanse maatskappye Plantechno en Sunchem oor die afgelope twaalf jaar spesifiek as ‘n bron van energie ontwikkel is. Kleinskaalse proewe is gedurende die afgelope jaar in die Loskop Vallei Landbougemeenskap in die Limpopo-provinsie van Suid-Afrika gedoen. Hierdie proewe word onder die toesig van die nuut gevormde plaaslike entiteit, Toboil (Pty) Ltd uitgevoer. Aansienlike navorsing, die aktiewe deelname van die onderskeie belanghebbende partye, ‘n Sistemiese Denke werkswinkel sowel as die ontwerp van ‘n simulasie model deur die gebruik van Sisteem Dinamieke Programerings program, naamlik Vensim, is ingespan om die lewensvatbaarheid van die moontlike aanplanting van Solaris te beoordeel. Die spesifieke gemeenskap se huidige behoeftes aan diesel en elektrisiteit sowel as Suid-Afrika se breër doelwitte aangaande bio-brandstowwe was as die grondslag gebruik waarop die volle Sistemiese Denke Benadering toegepas is. In Loskop omgewing was verskeie moontlike scenarios beproef en daar is op grond daarvan vasgestel dat ten einde die grootste moontlike inpak te maak op die afhanlikheid van diesel en elektrisiteit behoeftes van die gemeenskap, sowel as om die grootste moontlik werkskepping potensiaal te verwesenlik – terwyl die afskeiding van kweekhuis gasse verhoed word - die eerste vyf tot tien jaar van implementering baie lae winsgrens tot gevolg sal hê. Daar is ook verder afgelei dat afsienbare beleggings en opleiding benodig gaan word indien aangeplante bio-brandstowwe aangewend sou word om die landelike ontwikkelingsdoelwitte in Suid-Afrika te verwesenlik. Ten einde beide hierdie doelwitte aan te spreek, word ‘n modulêre ontwikkelings proses aanbeveel waar gevestigde lede van die kommersiële lanbou industrie, bystand en leierskap voorsien.
Bereza, Thomas William. "Predicting and Improving First Year Engineering Student Retention Through Lean Thinking and Quality Management Concepts." University of Dayton / OhioLINK, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1512591258327359.
Full textDavidz, Heidi L. "Enabling systems thinking to accelerate the development of senior systems engineers." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34200.
Full textIncludes bibliographical references (p. 210-213).
As engineering systems become more complex, the roles involved in developing and managing such systems also become more complex. Thus, there is increasing interest in educating and training engineering professionals to think more systemically. In particular, there is an increasing need to accelerate the development of senior systems engineers. As new educational degree programs in systems rapidly emerge and as companies scurry to establish systems training programs to meet this need, fundamental questions still remain about how systems thinking develops in engineers. Increased understanding of the mechanisms that develop systems thinking will enable effective and efficient development of senior systems professionals. After reviewing related literature, an exploratory and inductive study was designed to gather data on enablers, barriers, and precursors to systems thinking development in engineers. In a field study conducted primarily in the United States aerospace sector, 205 interviews were conducted in 10 host companies. Senior systems engineers were studied to better understand how they developed systems thinking, and information was collected on company procedures for developing systems engineers. Using interview and survey data, comparisons were made of two control groups and senior systems engineers.
(cont.) Proven stellar systems thinkers were also interviewed. To summarize the results, even though systems thinking definitions diverge, there is consensus on primary mechanisms that enable or obstruct systems thinking development in engineers. In order to reconcile the divergent definitions observed, a systems thinking framework, definition, and accompanying conceptual illustration are given. The data show that the primary mechanisms that enable systems thinking development include experiential learning, specific individual characteristics, and a supporting environment. This document defines the research space on this topic and suggests applications for the results. Better understanding of systems thinking development provides a foundation for educational interventions and employee development in systems thinking for engineering professionals across industry, government, and academia.
by Heidi Leoti Davidz.
Ph.D.
Gyllensvärd, Erik. "Identifiera och reducera slöserimed lean thinking." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Institutionen för maskinteknik, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-21684.
Full textAGES is a company that die-cast aluminum products with various alloys. They mainly produce for the automotive and engineering industries. Currently they have a low total equipment efficiency on two of their machines and they want to find out why. The biggest time losses are the set-up times and that the operators are not noticing when a machine stop has occurred. The aim of the project was to identify and reduce waste in the production process at AGES and create a basis for future work with SMED and Lean Production. Through different measurements, different analyzes could be performed such as value flow analysis and OEE-analysis. The analyzes resulted in several improvement proposals, some of which are planned to be implemented. Some will be evaluated and will be implemented as future improvements. The study has also led to an understanding of why machine stops occur and what measures should be taken. The management at AGES is positive to the results of the study and the improvement proposals. Within SMED, it resulted in a plan for how the tool change can be done to reduce set-up times and how much time can be saved when implemented.
Xie, Benjamin Xiang-Yu. "Progression of computational thinking skills demonstrated by App Inventor users." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/106395.
Full textThis electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 81-83).
analyze skill progression in MIT App Inventor, an open, online learning environment with over 4.7 million users and 14.9 million projects/apps created. My objective is to understand how people learn computational thinking concepts while creating mobile applications with App Inventor. In particular, I am interested in the relationship between the development of sophistication in using App Inventor functionality and the development of sophistication in using computational thinking concepts as learners create more apps. I take steps towards this objective by modeling the demonstrated sophistication of a user along two dimensions: breadth and depth of capability. Given a sample of 10,571 random users who have each created at least 20 projects, I analyze the relationship between demonstrating domain-specific skills by using App Inventor functionality and generalizable skills by using computational thinking concepts. I cluster similar users and compare differences in using computational concepts. My findings indicate a common pattern of expanding breadth of capability by using new skills over the first 10 projects, then developing depth of capability by using previously introduced skills to build more sophisticated apps. From analyzing the clustered users, I order computational concepts by perceived complexity. This concept complexity measure is relative to how users interact with components. I also identify differences in learning computational concepts using App Inventor when compared to learning with a text-based programming language such as Java. In particular, statements (produce action) and expressions (produce value) are separate blocks because they have different connections with other blocks in App Inventor's visual programming language. This may result in different perceptions of computational concepts when compared to perceptions from using a text-based programming language, as statements are used more frequently in App Inventor than expressions. This work has implications to enable future computer science curriculum to better leverage App Inventor's blocks-based programming language and events-based model to offer more personalized guidance and learning resources to those who learn App Inventor without an instructor.
by Benjamin Xiang-Yu Xie.
M. Eng.
Nilsson, Filip. "Development of a recycling centerthrough design thinking." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Institutionen för maskinteknik, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-21855.
Full textSpindler, Jason A. "Lean Initiative in the Program Office (LIPO): Applying Lean Thinking to the Livelink Database System." Digital Commons at Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School, 2009. https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/etd/440.
Full textFradinho, Jorge Miguel dos Santos. "Towards high performing hospital enterprise architectures : elevating hospitals to lean enterprise thinking." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/67757.
Full textCataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 608-630).
This research is motivated by the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine's joint call for research in healthcare, promoting the application of principles, tools, and research from engineering disciplines, and complex systems in particular. In 2005, the US healthcare expenditure represented 16% of its GDP, with hospitals representing the largest source of expenditure, as is the case in the United Kingdom. Consequently, the strategies and operations developed and implemented by hospitals have a significant impact on healthcare. Today, it would be hard to find a hospital that is not implementing a Lean initiative or who isn't familiar with its concepts. However, more often than not, their approach has narrowly focused at a process level and inside individual service units like an emergency department. This research seeks to elevate traditionally narrow hospital definitions of lean and explore the broader concepts of lean enterprise principles and Enterprise Architecture (EA) while enhancing our knowledge of hospitals' socio-technical complexity and enriching an emerging EA Framework (EAF) developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Following an extensive longitudinal multidisciplinary literature review, a number of expert interviews, and preliminary empirical findings, an exploratory inductive and deductive hybrid study was designed to collect and concurrently analyze both qualitative and quantitative empirical data from multiple hospital settings over two main phases: * The first phase consisted of recorded interviews with the Chief Executive Officers of seven leading Massachusetts hospitals, who also provided sensitive internal strategy and operations documents. We explored how hospitals currently measure their hospital performance and how their explicit and implicit practices may be improved using lean enterprise principles. e The second phase comprised two in-depth case studies of large leading multidisciplinary hospitals, one located in the US and other in the United Kingdom, and included a total of 13 embedded units of analysis. Multiple sources of evidence were collected including electronic medical records, 54 interviews, observation, and internal documents. Findings were categorized and sorted, as phenomena of interest consistently emerged from the data, and enriched both the EAF, and our understanding of hospitals' EA in particular. In both in-depth hospital cases we found that their EA consisted of multiple internal architectural configurations, and in particular, those with an enriched understanding of EA had made decisions which had improved not only their local performance, but also enhanced their interactions with other service units upstream and downstream. Conversely, worse performing configurations demonstrated a limited understanding of their hospital's EA. We conclude that hospital performance can be improved through an enriched understanding of hospital EA. Furthermore, whilst considering all hospitals included in this study, we propose general and specific recommendations, as well as diagnostic questions, performance dimensions, and metrics, to assist senior hospital leaders in architecting and managing their enterprise.
by Jorge Miguel dos Santos Fradinho.
Ph.D.
Felix, Allison. "Design Based Science and Higher Order Thinking." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/71746.
Full textEd. D.
Odhner, Lael Ulam 1980. "Functional thinking in cost estimation through the tools and concepts of axiomatic design." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/32772.
Full textIncludes bibliographical references (leaf 27).
There has been an increasing demand for cost estimation tools which aid in the reduction of system cost or the active consideration of cost as a design constraint. The existing tools are currently incapable of anticipating the unseen or latent effects of design changes made in an effort to cut cost. This paper presents an example of how the tools and concepts of axiomatic design theory can be integrated with the parametric cost estimation process, and then presents a series of arguments for why tools such as these which examine the functional architecture of a system are useful for optimizing cost at the preliminary design level.
by Lael Ulam Odhner.
S.B.
Ure, Heather. "The Effect of the Engineering Design Process on the Critical Thinking Skills of High School Students." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2012. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/3089.
Full textLammi, Matthew D. "Characterizing High School Students' Systems Thinking in Engineering Design Through the Function-Behavior-Structure (FBS) Framework." DigitalCommons@USU, 2011. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/849.
Full textM'Bayia, Caliste Claude. "System thinking approach to economic growth and poverty reduction in Cote d'Ivoire." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/106233.
Full textCataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 96-99).
The present thesis work aims to propose a pathway to a sustainable economic growth and a fast reduction of poverty in Cote d'Ivoire. Poverty is a major social phenomenon that affects more than 50% of the world's population. In Cote d'Ivoire, 49% of the population is living under the poverty line with less than $1.25 a day, and the country is struggling to lift them out of poverty. But poverty is a complex issue to tackle. One solution, which most experts now agree on, consists in enhancing prosperity through the implementation of economic growth policies. The question this research aims to address is to know what specific growth policies would best suit to the social, economical, cultural and environmental situation of Cote d'Ivoire. The main lesson is that Cote d'Ivoire should focus on the development of its agricultural sector and build an agriculture innovation system that will foster the transfer of knowledge and the adoption of new technologies especially in the country's rural areas. This thesis work is original in that it uses systems thinking approach and systems engineering concepts and tools, to address the issues of economic growth and poverty reduction. By doing so, it brings new insights that increase the chances of success of the National Development Plan of Cote d'Ivoire and therefore contributes to the materialization of the country's ambition to become an emerging nation by 2020.
by Caliste Claude M'Bayia.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
Turakhia, Dishita Girish. "Thirteen ways of looking : a theoretical inquiry in computational creative thinking." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/113918.
Full textThesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2017.
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 97-99).
The vision of this research is to propose a novel computational framework to study Creative Thinking. If we are to embed machines with creative thinking abilities, then we first need to study the evanescent nature of human creative thinking. Creative thinking is neither entirely random nor strictly logical, making it difficult to t its computation into structured logical models of thinking. Given this conundrum, how can we computationally study the process of thinking creatively? In this research, I first present the current scientific definitions of creative thinking. Through literary survey of cognitive, computational and design thinking frameworks, I identify the missing links between human creativity and AI models of creative thinking. I assert that creative thinking is result of two features of human intelligence, cognitive diversity and social interaction. Cognitive diversity or the ability to parse knowledge in dierent ways is a crucial aspect of creative thinking. Furthermore, social interaction between cognitively diverse individuals results in restructuring of thoughts leading to creativity and epiphanies (the aha moments). I posit that Shape Grammar, with its ability to fluidly restructure computation, can be used to study and demonstrate cognitive diversity and interaction. If we conceive thoughts as shapes and ideas as configurations of those shapes, then cognitive diversity can be described as rule-based computation on shapes to generate those configurations; and interaction as the exchange of rules between cognitive diverse entities (humans or machines). The contributions of this research are threefold. First, I present a literature review of current frameworks, and identify the two gaps between machine and human creativity. Secondly, I demonstrate how shape grammar can ll those gaps of cognitive diversity and interaction. Thirdly, I propose thought-shape framework that adapts principles of shape grammar for computational creative thinking.
by Dishita Girish Turakhia.
S.M.
Thornton, Robert F. (Robert Francis). "A systems thinking approach to defining a space force architecture." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/121801.
Full textCataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 87-89).
The United States military services, government, and civilian population rely on the US military's historic technical dominance in outer space. Space-enabled capabilities have become fundamental across the spectrum of military and civilian activities. The space superiority gap that the US military has held for decades is narrowing as access to space technology, and to space itself, becomes more widespread, allowing more nations, private industry, and non-state actors to become significant players in space. In response to this trend, the US Department of Defense and Congress are seeking to establish the Space Force as an independent branch of the Armed Forces. This thesis applies a systems thinking method to designing the structure and function of the Space Force. Through review of open-source literature, the study summarizes the current state of the military space enterprise and assesses the arguments made by advocates of various approaches to organizing the space forces.
The US military possesses extensive space power, executing critical missions such as navigation, imagery, and communications. US government space functions also include space intelligence, managing space traffic, and regulating the space industry. The literature review enables understanding of the existing architecture, five proposed alternative architectures and the eight key decisions on which they are based, and eight utility and cost metrics for evaluating the options. Tradespace analysis reveals the relative value of the six architectures and how they compare to other possible configurations to inform the Space Force debate. This limited investigation expressly does not include classified information or insider perspectives, and therefore does not offer policy recommendations, but within its limitations and assumptions the tradespace analysis offers some useful conclusions.
First, creating the Space Force as a separate branch of the military is consistent with national security priorities and the current circumstances of the military and industry. Second, making the Space Force a whole-of-government organization yields the highest utility, though at the highest cost, amongst the six architectures under consideration. Third, military space capability commercialization can allow reduced cost and improved utility compared to the current architecture. Finally, consolidated space acquisitions only, without additional steps toward a separate Space Force, might not improve the military space enterprise compared to the existing baseline. Recommendations for future study include incorporating classified data and key stakeholder input into the framework, further decomposing the military space functions to elaborate the tradespace in greater detail and defining criteria for commercialization of space capabilities.
These additional steps will enable the research to reliably inform policy decisions.
by Robert F. Thornton.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
S.M.inEngineeringandManagement Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program
Jeong, Hyunsoo. "Predictive analytics for smart manufacturing : use and impact from a systems thinking perspective." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/106252.
Full textCataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 115-122).
The manufacturing industry has, recently, been facing tremendous challenges, including cost efficiency, system safety, and process automation, and manufacturing companies are required to adopt new technologies to keep themselves sustainable in the fast-changing world of technology. This research focuses, in particular, on how to prevent cutting tool failures and catastrophic accidents in Computerized Numerically Controlled (CNC) machining processes by using a predictive model based on the cutting sound data. With advances in machine learning algorithms and predictive analytics techniques, it becomes possible to create a noise-robust predictive model from an unstructured dataset of sound data. It is an obviously desirable decision to make use of every technology as required and benefit from it. The predictive model introduced in this research uses cutting sound data rather than acoustic emission or force/torque sensor data, which have been widely used for machine failure detection but have shown some limitations. The model is an important stepping stone for realizing an unmanned and fully automated manufacturing system, the so-called "smart factory," and it would be a meaningful movement for the government side as well, taking into account government's responsibility to keep people safe in the workplace. In this research, several experiments were carried out to collect sound data in the CNC machining center in Korea, and particular features were extracted from the analog waveform signals, using the unstructured data to make the predictive model using various advanced data analytics techniques and cutting-edge machine learning algorithms. Then, several analysis methods with systems thinking were used to explore potential impacts of the predictive model on the manufacturing system because the systems thinking approach is the most effective way to analyze a wide range of potential impacts from a holistic perspective. Specifically, the impact analysis was successfully conducted by using a "Causal Analysis based on STAMP (CAST)," which is a system safety analysis method. Also used was "system dynamics modeling," which is generally employed to identify dynamic behaviors in a complex system. Finally, a "complete value template" was constructed to portray how the new system delivers value to its stakeholders from a system architecture perspective.
by Hyunsoo Jeong.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
Olschewsky, Scott (Scott Michael). "Enabling cultural shifts : an enterprise approach toward lean thinking." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/50097.
Full textIncludes bibliographical references (p. 65-67).
The Supply Planning Operations team, in a large manufacturing firm, faced a future where their complexity of scope was increasing without an increase in resource levels. As an effort to improve both efficiency and effectively within the organization, they chose to adopt Lean Thinking as a method to streamline and simplify activities, connections and flows. Lean Thinking, while often viewed as a set of tools (value stream mapping, andon cords, kanbans, and others), involves the harmony between principles, culture and the appropriate application of tools. SPO has taken an approach focused on culture and deep understanding of Lean Principles before deploying the tools of Lean. It was important to examine why artifacts succeeded or failed in influencing cultural change. One common theme for successful artifacts was their portability. With a geographically diverse team, it was important that any artifact could be transported electronically. Although not all the actions have been successful in influencing the organization's culture, many actions have had a profound impact. Seeing members of the organization write about their personal experiences is just one example of how Lean Thinking has been adopted. By committing to "Rules before Tools," the group embarked upon a journey to change culture. This thesis used an Enacted Systems Analysis to identify Artifacts, Habits of Thought and Habits of Action. Several organizational barriers emerged along with possible levers to promote change. Even though the revolution is only in its infancy, SPO appears to be on a sustainable path toward a Lean Thinking transformation.
by Scott Olschewsky.
S.M.
M.B.A.
Schultz, Jessica. "The effects of integrating engineering strategies in the science classroom on critical thinking skills of my students." Montana State University, 2011. http://etd.lib.montana.edu/etd/2011/schultz/SchultzJ0811.pdf.
Full textForsman, Jonas. "Exploring using complexity thinking to extend the modelling of student retention in higher education physics and engineering." Licentiate thesis, Uppsala universitet, Fysikundervisningens didaktik, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-162563.
Full textAl-Debei, Mutaz M. "The design and engineering of innovative mobile data services : an ontological framework founded on business model thinking." Thesis, Brunel University, 2010. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/4397.
Full textEdgington, Dave. "A Look into Student Critical Thinking Skills in the Southern Illinois University Electrical Engineering Technology Bachelor’s Program." OpenSIUC, 2019. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/1750.
Full textFrancart, Nicolas. "Buildings in municipal climate change mitigation strategies : towards life cycle thinking." Licentiate thesis, KTH, Hållbar utveckling, miljövetenskap och teknik, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-244063.
Full textQC 20190218
Taylor, William D. "A Comparative Analysis of Problem Solving Approaches Between Designers and Engineers." The Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1409048770.
Full textSmith, Cal Alden. "System thinking for success : adding structure to an unstructured process approach." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/118516.
Full textCataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 139-141).
When many companies are presented with the knowledge of new tools and techniques for System Architecture, Systems Engineering and Project Management as part of a System Thinking approach, they initially show great interest and a desire to institute change to their current culture. Yet, when presented with an opportunity to apply these new tools and techniques in the next project, they perhaps become reluctant to institute the change because of a perceived risks in integrating unfamiliar methods. This reluctance may be a bias based primarily on their own perception of past success using the company's internally developed processes and practices, and a belief that change may negatively affect results. But are these modern System Thinking techniques really new to them? Is it possible that these companies have naturally evolved toward practicing the newer System Thinking techniques without realizing it, driven by the accumulation of practical knowledge and lessons learned, but performed in an unstructured manner. This paper's research has found in looking at a well-established company with a track record of successful projects, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), that there are indications that they have become significantly align to the current System Thinking approaches. The success of LLNL's current processes and practices relies heavily on the experience and the expertise of individuals who can process many of the projects architectural assessments, trades, plans and analytics within their cognitive abilities and derived practices. This paper, however, finds that this reliance on Experts may not be the primary force behind their success and the natural progression to Systems Thinking. The success and progression in System Thinking seems to be stimulated by the project team mix of Experts and Non-Experts, and by empowering the Non-Experts with the ability to question and request clarification of rationale concerning the Expert opinions. Non- Experts appear to play a critical role in project team success in System Thinking, especially in an Expert dominate Ecosystems such as those at LLNL. The risk in the LLNL project ecosystems is that this progression to System Thinking has occurred with little structural change in terms of documentation, analytics and metrics. This structural weakness appears to be actively mitigated through management oversight, which carries its own level of risk, often generating a single point of failure opportunity in the project system. There is evidence that an integrated and distributed approach to the System Thinking activities would best support LLNL projects. With staffing turnover, retirements and natural attrition, the company's current unstructured processes and practices are challenged, often requiring retirees to return as consultants or additional resources to be added to force the current unstructured practices to succeed. This paper's research provides information to help in (1) evaluating current project approach for evidence of Systems Thinking and (2) determining the effect of the addition of System Thinking structure and methods to reduce future project risk.
by Cal Alden Smith.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
Brow, Raymond A. "A systems thinking approach to cloud computing that complements the NIST guidance." Thesis, Capitol College, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3585011.
Full textThe move to cloud computing as mandated by the US federal CIO (Kundra, 2010) is one of the key initiatives expected to provide relief from US federal IT budget concerns. NIST was commissioned to provide guidance for the move. Federal agencies expressed concern that the guidance provided to them was deficient and GAO (2012) further stated that more planning was required. There is no research investigating the possible role systems thinking could play for complementing the NIST guidance and enhancing the planning. This study presents systems thinking as a complementary option to the NIST guidance. Using a mixed method, this study demonstrates first, quantitatively through content analysis that the NIST documentation does not take a systems thinking approach. Then secondly, this study qualitatively explores a systems thinking framework to supplement the NIST guidance. The framework is established based upon a thorough review of current scholarship in the areas of systems thinking and cloud computing using the established tools and methods of content analysis. The review of cloud computing demonstrates the diversity, complexity, and uncertainty of the technology. Systems thinking is shown to address just such situations. Based upon the research, a systems thinking framework is created that demonstrates how systems thinking could supplement the NIST guidance on moving to the cloud. Through the application of the framework US federal agencies could more confidently manage the risk of moving US federal assets to the cloud and thereby gain a firmer foothold in arresting the IT budget concerns.
Ghaly, Marcus. "Thoughtmarks: Re-thinking Bookmarks & the Personal Information Space." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-22962.
Full textSalim, Hamid M. "Cyber safety : a systems thinking and systems theory approach to managing cyber security risks." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/90804.
Full textThesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2014.
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Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 148-156).
If we are to manage cyber security risks more effectively in today's complex and dynamic Web 2.0 environment, then a new way of thinking is needed to complement traditional approaches. According to Symantec's 2014 Internet Security Threat Report, in 2012 more than ten million identities that included real names, dates of birth, and social security were exposed by a single breach. In 2013 there were eight breaches that each exposed over ten million identities. These breaches were recorded despite the fact that significant resources are expended, on managing cyber security risks each year by businesses and governments. The objective of this thesis was twofold. The first objective was to understand why traditional approaches for managing cyber security risks were not yielding desired results. Second, propose a new method for managing cyber security risks more effectively. The thesis investigated widely used approaches and standards, and puts forward a method based on the premise that traditional technology centric approaches have become ineffective on their own. This lack of efficacy can be attributed primarily to the fact that, Web 2.0 is a dynamic and a complex socio-technical system that is continuously evolving. This thesis proposes a new method for managing cyber security risks based on a model for accident or incident analysis, used in Systems Safety field. The model is called System-Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP). It is rooted in Systems Thinking and Systems Theory. Based on a case study specifically written for this thesis, the largest cyber-attack reported in 2007 on a major US based retailer, is analyzed using the STAMP model. The STAMP based analysis revealed insights both at systemic and detailed level, which otherwise would not be available, if traditional approaches were used for analysis. Further, STAMP generated specific recommendations for managing cyber security risks more effectively.
by Hamid M. Salim.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
S.M.
Reyes, Eumir P. (Eumir Paulo Reyes Morales). "A systems thinking approach to business intelligence solutions based on cloud computing." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/59267.
Full textCataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 73-74).
Business intelligence is the set of tools, processes, practices and people that are used to take advantage of information to support decision making in the organizations. Cloud computing is a new paradigm for offering computing resources that work on demand, are scalable and are charged by the time they are used. Organizations can save large amounts of money and effort using this approach. This document identifies the main challenges companies encounter while working on business intelligence applications in the cloud, such as security, availability, performance, integration, regulatory issues, and constraints on network bandwidth. All these challenges are addressed with a systems thinking approach, and several solutions are offered that can be applied according to the organization's needs. An evaluations of the main vendors of cloud computing technology is presented, so that business intelligence developers identify the available tools and companies they can depend on to migrate or build applications in the cloud. It is demonstrated how business intelligence applications can increase their availability with a cloud computing approach, by decreasing the mean time to recovery (handled by the cloud service provider) and increasing the mean time to failure (achieved by the introduction of more redundancy on the hardware). Innovative mechanisms are discussed in order to improve cloud applications, such as private, public and hybrid clouds, column-oriented databases, in-memory databases and the Data Warehouse 2.0 architecture. Finally, it is shown how the project management for a business intelligence application can be facilitated with a cloud computing approach. Design structure matrices are dramatically simplified by avoiding unnecessary iterations while sizing, validating, and testing hardware and software resources.
by Eumir P. Reyes.
S.M.in System Design and Management