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French, Christopher Forbes. "Philosophy as conceptual engineering : inductive logic in Rudolf Carnap's scientific philosophy." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/55135.
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My dissertation explores the ways in which Rudolf Carnap sought to make philosophy scientific by further developing recent interpretive efforts to explain Carnap’s mature philosophical work as a form of engineering. It does this by looking in detail at his philosophical practice in his most sustained mature project, his work on pure and applied inductive logic. I, first, specify the sort of engineering Carnap is engaged in as involving an engineering design problem and then draw out the complications of design problems from current work in history of engineering and technology studies. I then model Carnap’s practice based on those lessons and uncover ways in which Carnap’s technical work in inductive logic takes some of these lessons on board. This shows ways in which Carnap’s philosophical project subtly changes right through his late work on induction, providing an important corrective to interpretations that ignore the work on inductive logic. Specifically, I show that paying attention to the historical details of Carnap’s attempt to apply his work in inductive logic to decision theory and theoretical statistics in the 1950s and 1960s helps us understand how Carnap develops and rearticulates the philosophical point of the practical/theoretical distinction in his late work, offering thus a new interpretation of Carnap’s technical work within the broader context of philosophy of science and analytical philosophy in general.Arts, Faculty of
Philosophy, Department of
Graduate
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Mohammad, Hossein Shafiee Deh Abad. "Engineering & ethics." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.288216.
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Mohamad, Mohamad I. "The application of concurrent engineering philosophy to the construction industry." Thesis, Loughborough University, 1999. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/7026.
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The research explores the rationale of applying Concurrent Engineering (CE) philosophy to the construction industry. CE was considered based on its successful implementation in other industries. In the manufacturing industry it is used to overcome problems similar in nature to those of the construction industry, resulting from the practice of the traditional 'over the wall' processes in product design and manufacturing (construction). During the initial stage, the research evaluated current problems faced by the industry, such as the high degree of fragmentation of industry structure and work processes, adversarial elationships among project participants' lack of communication, etc., and its effort to achieve improvement. The research also investigated the theoretical background of CE philosophy, its application in other industries especially in manufacturing, the rationale for its application to construction, and current practices within the construction industry similar to those encompassed within the CE philosophy. CE consists of several basic principles, of which the teamwork was the main focus of this research and is used as the main strategy to achieve CE implementation for construction industry. By using both quantitative and qualitative evaluation, the research determined that there was no evidence to support that CE has been practised in construction as a complete process, as it has in other industries. The research also established a number of factors that support and inhibit collaborative teamwork in construction, and rank them according to their relative importance. The rankings indicate the priorities for the industry in order to achieve collaborative working, which is critical to CE implementation. The main output of the research was the establishment of 'guidelines' for implementing a Cross Functional Project Team (CFPT), i.e. the cross functional teamwork concept based on CE principles, forming the main strategy to implement CE in construction. The 'guidelines' were developed based on the consensus opinion of industry experts using the Delphi study technique. The findings from case studies were used to validate these 'guidelines'. The research also developed a tool known as the Matrix Measurement Guidelines - 'Toward CE in Construction' (MMG-TCEiC) to help the industry to map the process toward achieving a collaborative teamwork concept based on CE environments within construction projects.
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Addis, W. "Theory and design in civil and structural engineering : A study in the history and philosophy of engineering." Thesis, University of Reading, 1986. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.483030.
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Bärring, Philip. "The Engineering Person : Arendt and an Anthropology of Engineering Ethics." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för kulturantropologi och etnologi, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-432432.
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In this thesis Hannah Arendt’s theories of science and technology are applied in an ethnographic study of engineering ethics. Seeking to gain further understanding of Arendt’s thoughts, her concepts of The Archimedean Point and Earth Alienation is applied in interviews with engineering students in Sweden’s Uppsala University. The purpose directing this study is thus twofold, it is an attempt to anthropologize Arendt’s thoughts of science and technology, and to further understand engineering’s ethical engagement. The study identifies a dynamic where engineering students create dichotomous mentalities. One mentality is engineering’s demand of a desubjectified instrumental rationality in inherent contradiction to an ethical consciousness, this mentality can be identified as Arendt’s Archimedean Point. In conflict to this mentality lies the intersubjectivity of a socio-politically engaged student concerned with engineering’s ability to create evil. This study makes the claim that Uppsala University’s student traditions and culture encourage the second mentality and forms an important resource for ethical engagement among students.
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Hector, Donald. "Towards a new philosophy of engineering structuring the complex problems from the sustainability discourse /." Connect to full text, 2008. http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/2690.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2008.Includes tables. Includes list of publications: p. 9. Title from title screen (viewed September 19, 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.
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Hector, Donald Charles Alexander. "Towards a new philosophy of engineering: structuring the complex problems from the sustainability discourse." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/2690.
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This dissertation considers three broad issues which emerge from the sustainability discourse. First is the nature of the discourse itself, particularly the underlying philosophical positions which are represented. Second, is the nature of the highly complex types of problem which the discourse exposes. And third is whether the engineering profession, as it is practised currently, is adequate to deal with such problems. The sustainability discourse exposes two distinct, fundamentally irreconcilable philosophical positions. The first, “sustainable development”, considers humanity to be privileged in relation to all other species and ecosystems. It is only incumbent upon us to look after the environment to the extent to which it is in our interests to do so. The second, “sustainability”, sees humanity as having no special moral privilege and recognises the moral status of other species, ecosystems, and even wilderness areas. Thus, sustainability imposes upon us a moral obligation to take their status into account and not to degrade or to destroy them. These two conflicting positions give rise to extremely complex problems. An innovative taxonomy of problem complexity has been developed which identifies three broad categories of problem. Of particular interest in this dissertation is the most complex of these, referred to here as the Type 3 problem. The Type 3 problem recognises the systemic complexity of the problem situation but also includes differences of the domain of interests as a fundamental, constituent part of the problem itself. Hence, established systems analysis techniques and reductionist approaches do not work. The domain of interests will typically have disparate ideas and positions, which may be entirely irreconcilable. The dissertation explores the development of philosophy of science, particularly in the last 70 years. It is noted that, unlike the philosophy of science, the philosophy of engineering has not been influenced by developments of critical theory, cultural theory, and postmodernism, which have had significant impact in late 20th-century Western society. This is seen as a constraint on the practice of engineering. Thus, a set of philosophical principles for sustainable engineering practice is developed. Such a change in the philosophy underlying the practice of engineering is seen as necessary if engineers are to engage with and contribute to the resolution of Type 3 problems. Two particular challenges must be overcome, if Type 3 problems are to be satisfactorily resolved. First, issues of belief, values, and morals are central to this problem type and must be included in problem consideration. And second, the problem situation is usually so complex that it challenges the capacity of human cognition to deal with it. Consequently, extensive consideration is given to cognitive and behavioural psychology, in particular to choice, judgement and decision-making in uncertainty. A novel problem-structuring approach is developed on three levels. A set philosophical foundation is established; a theoretical framework, based on general systems theory and established behavioural and cognitive psychological theory, is devised; and a set of tools is proposed to model Type 3 complex problems as a dynamic systems. The approach is different to other systems approaches, in that it enables qualitative exploration of the system to plausible, hypothetical disturbances. The problem-structuring approach is applied in a case study, which relates to the development of a water subsystem for a major metropolis (Sydney, Australia). The technique is also used to critique existing infrastructure planning processes and to propose an alternative approach.
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Hector, Donald Charles Alexander. "Towards a new philosophy of engineering: structuring the complex problems from the sustainability discourse." University of Sydney, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/2690.
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Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)Revised work with minor emendations approved by supervisor.
This dissertation considers three broad issues which emerge from the sustainability discourse. First is the nature of the discourse itself, particularly the underlying philosophical positions which are represented. Second, is the nature of the highly complex types of problem which the discourse exposes. And third is whether the engineering profession, as it is practised currently, is adequate to deal with such problems. The sustainability discourse exposes two distinct, fundamentally irreconcilable philosophical positions. The first, “sustainable development”, considers humanity to be privileged in relation to all other species and ecosystems. It is only incumbent upon us to look after the environment to the extent to which it is in our interests to do so. The second, “sustainability”, sees humanity as having no special moral privilege and recognises the moral status of other species, ecosystems, and even wilderness areas. Thus, sustainability imposes upon us a moral obligation to take their status into account and not to degrade or to destroy them. These two conflicting positions give rise to extremely complex problems. An innovative taxonomy of problem complexity has been developed which identifies three broad categories of problem. Of particular interest in this dissertation is the most complex of these, referred to here as the Type 3 problem. The Type 3 problem recognises the systemic complexity of the problem situation but also includes differences of the domain of interests as a fundamental, constituent part of the problem itself. Hence, established systems analysis techniques and reductionist approaches do not work. The domain of interests will typically have disparate ideas and positions, which may be entirely irreconcilable. The dissertation explores the development of philosophy of science, particularly in the last 70 years. It is noted that, unlike the philosophy of science, the philosophy of engineering has not been influenced by developments of critical theory, cultural theory, and postmodernism, which have had significant impact in late 20th-century Western society. This is seen as a constraint on the practice of engineering. Thus, a set of philosophical principles for sustainable engineering practice is developed. Such a change in the philosophy underlying the practice of engineering is seen as necessary if engineers are to engage with and contribute to the resolution of Type 3 problems. Two particular challenges must be overcome, if Type 3 problems are to be satisfactorily resolved. First, issues of belief, values, and morals are central to this problem type and must be included in problem consideration. And second, the problem situation is usually so complex that it challenges the capacity of human cognition to deal with it. Consequently, extensive consideration is given to cognitive and behavioural psychology, in particular to choice, judgement and decision-making in uncertainty. A novel problem-structuring approach is developed on three levels. A set philosophical foundation is established; a theoretical framework, based on general systems theory and established behavioural and cognitive psychological theory, is devised; and a set of tools is proposed to model Type 3 complex problems as a dynamic systems. The approach is different to other systems approaches, in that it enables qualitative exploration of the system to plausible, hypothetical disturbances. The problem-structuring approach is applied in a case study, which relates to the development of a water subsystem for a major metropolis (Sydney, Australia). The technique is also used to critique existing infrastructure planning processes and to propose an alternative approach.
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Tang, Xiaofeng. "Engineering Knowledge and Student Development| An Institutional and Pedagogical Critique of Engineering Education." Thesis, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3684113.
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Educators have recommended the integration of engineering and the liberal arts as a promising educational model to prepare young engineers for global economic, environmental, sociotechnical, and ethical challenges. Drawing upon philosophy of technology, engineering studies, and educational psychology, this dissertation examines diverse visions and strategies for integrating engineering and liberal education and explores their impacts on students' intellectual and moral development. Based on archival research, interviews, and participant observation, the dissertation presents in-depth case studies of three educational initiatives that seek to blend engineering with the humanities, social sciences, and arts: Harvey Mudd College, the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College, and the Programs in Design and Innovation at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The research finds that learning engineering in a liberal arts context increases students' sense of "owning" their education and contributes to their communication, teamwork, and other non-technical professional skills. In addition, opportunities for extensive liberal arts learning in the three cases encourage some students to pursue alternative, less technocentric approaches to engineering. Nevertheless, the case studies suggest that the epistemological differences between the engineering and liberal arts instructors help maintain a technical/social dualism among most students. Furthermore, the dissertation argues a "hidden curriculum," which reinforces the dominant ideology in the engineering profession, persists in the integrated programs and prevents the students from reflecting on the broad social context of engineering and critically examining the assumptions upheld in the engineering profession.
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Mutagahywa, Eric Beda. "Socketless TCP : a connection identification philosophy for end to end mobility." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5147.
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Includes bibliographical references.There is increasing pressure on Telecoms and Internet Service Providers to supply their customers with access to their customized services anywhere, on any terminal via any access technology. The pressure is trickled down to software programmers to provide innovative and advanced applications to fit this new environment. This will require network protocol architects to provide an Internet framework that will give programmers more control and flexibility to create mobile aware applications. To fulfill such requirements, network protocol architects need to shift their mobility perspective from the mobile terminal to a finer grained model; finely grained in respect to allowing individual transport connections to seamless switch between network terminals, controlled dynamically and/or manually by applications or users. The key issue of this vision is how to support this model in TCP/IP networks. We argue that the TCP/IP socket pair connection identification model restricts this granularity and flexibility of mobility. We present Socketless TCP (SL-TCP), an architectural concept based on reconsidering the socket pair for connection identification.
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Jayasinghe, M. T. R. "Rationalization of prestressed concrete spine beam design philosophy for expert systems." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.239613.
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Kerr, Eric Thomson. "Engineering anti-individualism : a case study in social epistemology." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/9690.
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This dissertation is a contribution to two fields of study: applied social epistemology and the philosophy of technology. That is, it is a philosophical study, based on empirical fieldwork research, of social and technical knowledge. Social knowledge here is defined as knowledge acquired through the interactions between epistemic agents and social institutions. Technical knowledge is here defined as knowledge about technical artefacts (including how to design, produce, and operate them). I argue that the two must be considered collectively both in the sense that they are best considered in the light of collectivist approaches to knowledge and in the sense that they must be considered together as part of the same analysis. An analysis solely of the interactions between human epistemic agents operating within social institutions does not give adequate credit to the technological artefacts that help to produce knowledge; an analysis of technical knowledge which does not include an analysis of how that technical knowledge is generated within a rich and complex social network would be similarly incomplete. I argue that it is often inappropriate to separate analyses of technical knowledge from social knowledge and that although not all social knowledge is technical knowledge, all technical knowledge is, by definition, social. Further, the influence of technology on epistemic cultures is so pervasive that it also forms or 'envelops' what we consider to be an epistemic agent.
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Al-Haji, Ghazwan. "Road Safety Development Index : Theory, Philosophy and Practice." Doctoral thesis, Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för teknik och naturvetenskap, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-8812.
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This dissertation develops, presents and tests a new international tool, the so-called Road Safety Development Index (RSDI), which indicates in a comprehensive and easy way the severity of the road safety situation in a specific country and/or in comparison with other countries. There are three pillars of outcomes involved in the framework of RSDI. One pillar is the People focus (road user behaviour). The second is the System focus (safer vehicles, safer roads, enforcement, management, etc). The third is the Product focus in terms of accident death rates. This thesis analyses each of these pillars. In addition, RSDI links the key national practices of road safety to each other and to the end-results (accident death rates). The study suggests a master-list of performance indicators to be implemented for assessing road safety level in a country and for RSDI building. Based on the “master-list”, a short key list of performance indicators is chosen and classified into two primary categories that correspond to two groups of countries: LMCs “Less Motorised Countries” and HMCs “Highly Motorised Countries”. RSDI aggregates the key performance indicators into one single quantitative value (composite index). Four main objective and subjective approaches are used to calculate RSDI and determine which one is the best. One approach uses equal weights for all indicators and countries, whereas the other approaches give different weights depending on the importance of indicators. Two empirical studies were carried out, in different parts of the world, to determine the applicability of this tool in real world applications. The first empirical study comes from eight European countries (HMCs). The second empirical study comes from five Southeast Asian countries (LMCs). The RSDI results from this study indicate a remarkable difference between the selected countries even at the same level of motorisation and/or with close accident death rates. The unavailability of comparable and useful data are problems for deeper analysis of RSDI, especially the index should be as relevant as possible for different parts of the world. The empirical and theoretical assessments prove that RSDI can give a broader picture of the whole road safety situation in a country compared to the traditional models and can offer a simple and easily understandable tool to national policy makers and public.Denna avhandling utvecklar, presenterar och testar ett nytt internationellt verktyg, det så kallade Road Safety Development Index (RSDI), vilket på ett begripligt och lättillgängligt sätt beskriver trafiksäkerhetsläget i ett visst land jämfört med andra länder. Resultatet av RSDI utgörs av tre grundpelare. Den första pelaren är Fokus på människor (vägtrafikbeteende). Den andra är Fokus på systemet (säkrare fordon, säkrare vägar, beivrande, management, osv). Den tredje pelaren är Fokus på produkten med avseende på antal döda per fordon och per invånare. Arbetet analyserar var och en av dessa tre pelare. RSDI kopplar dessutom samman de viktigaste nationella praxisarna och erfarenheterna med varandra och till slutresultaten (antal dödsfall). Studien föreslår en lista med de viktigaste indikatorerna på hur olika länder vidtar åtgärder för trafiksäkerheten. Grundat på denna “master-lista” kan en kort lista med de viktigaste indikatorerna skapas och klassificeras i två huvudkategorier för två typer av länder: LMC “länder med låg andel fordon” och HMC “länder med hög andel fordon”. RSDI aggregerar de viktigaste performance-indikatorerna till ett enda kvantitativt mått (ett sammansatt index). Fyra olika objektiva och subjektiva huvudangreppssätt används för att beräkna RSDI och bestämma vilket av dem som är det bästa. En metod använder sig av lika stora vikter för alla indikatorer och länder, medan en annan metod ger olika vikter beroende på indikatorernas betydelse. Två empiriska studier genomfördes i olika delar av världen för att bestämma tillämpligheten av detta verktyg i verkliga situationer. Den första empiriska studien kommer från åtta länder i Europa (HMC-länder). Den andra empiriska studien har gjorts i fem länder i Sydostasien (LMC-länder). Resultaten från detta RSDI tyder på en anmärkningsvärd skillnad mellan de valda länderna, också om andelen bilägare och/eller andra variabler för trafiksäkerhet hålls konstanta. Bristen på jämförbara och användbara data medför problem vid en djupare analys av RSDI för olika delar av världen. De empiriska och teoretiska skattningarna visar att RSDI kan ge en bredare bild av hela trafiksäkerhetssituationen i ett land jämfört med traditionella modeller och kan erbjuda ett enkelt och lättförståeligt verktyg för de nationella beslutsfattarna liksom för allmänheten.
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Angarita, Soto Angie. "Design Philosophy for User Friendly Parameter Handler." Thesis, Mälardalens högskola, Akademin för innovation, design och teknik, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-16187.
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DCU2 (Drive Control Unit 2) is an important control system used in applications for train systems that are configured by a set of parameters. Traditionally, parameterization is conducted by using an excel workbook during the software development. The parameters are set up and further export the parameters to the compilation step. Such approach has a number of disadvantages, e.g., delays on the validation and verification steps, system configuration overhead, and suboptimal system reliability generated by the parameter configurations. To improve the parameterization process, this thesis implements a model-based software architecture approach and automotive industry standards via rapid prototyping by using scrum methodology. We do this by using Matlab/Simulink, TDL (Time Description Language) and UML (Unified Modeling Language) architectural description languages to enable different views of the software architecture. We then develop different prototypes that implement ASAM (Association for Standardization of Automation and Measuring Systems) standards like XCP protocol over Ethernet (code ASAM MCD-1 XCP V1.1.0) and ASAP2 (code ASAM MCD-2 MC) in every scrum sprint. An evaluation then shows that the thesis successfully implements previously defined standards that use commercial tools from e.g., Vector, proving that the parameter‟s unit control can be handled via online calibration and measurement, leading to a significant improvement in Bombardier‟s software development process in a distributed development environment.
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Ullah, Malik Imran, and Waqar Ali Zaidi. "Quality Assurance Activities in Agile : Philosophy to Practice." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Sektionen för datavetenskap och kommunikation, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-2145.
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Quality assurance activities, in software development, are the backbone of whole project. These activities are not only responsible of product quality, but also for process quality. In conventional software development QA is a separate group of QA experts. As the trends of software development moved towards agile development, QA activities also got changed. In agile development most of these activities are performed by developers. Close people collaboration, onsite customer and Test Driven Development are the approaches in agile development to achieve better product quality. In this thesis we have presented the philosophical as well as practical angle QA in agile development. Mindset of agile development revolves around product quality but there is much work to be done to impart quality of process in agile development to get it standardized and more organized. QA activities remain centric and focused to testing. Practices like SPI and following some standards are lacking in agile methodologies. In this thesis we have proposed to inject an extra layer of QA in agile projects. Purpose of injecting and extra layer, is to use the knowledge of QA experts to achieve quality in development process that will result in higher level of product quality.
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Linderman, Kristoffer. "Vault: Merging relational learning and mobile learning with the philosophy of Parkour." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för teknik och samhälle (TS), 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-20569.
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Denna uppsats presenterar forskning som belyser de förändringar inom utbildningsystemen somföljt i och med utvecklingen av internet, sociala medier, online kommunikation och utbyte avkunskap online. Under det senaste årtiondet har sättet människor lär sig på förändrats från dettraditionella klassrummet, som enbart använder sig av tryckt material, till det modernaklassrummet som nyttjar digitalt material [1]. Electronic learning (e-learning) innebär av attanvända sig av digitala material istället för det traditionella tryckt materialet [2]. Mobilelearning tar detta koncept ett steg längre genom att kombinera individuellt lärande medvarsomhelst och närsomhelst lärande [2]. Detta möjliggörs till stor del av den teknologiskautvecklingen inom mobila enheter [3]. Relational learning är ett sätt att lära där individen lärfrån andra genom ett gemensamt utbyte av idéer och kunskap [4].Parkour, eller konsten av rörelse, har av O’Grady blivit presenterat som en kollaborativläromodell [5].Utövare av parkour kallas traceurs och när traceurs utövar parkour blir parkourett verktyg för aktivt lärande. Med detta lärande blir förståelse och överkommandet av hinderen läromodell. Detta är en läromodell där vetandet och upprepandet är nyckeln till traceurssträvan efter lärandets berusning. Med lek förvandlar parkour sin omgivning till en miljö förlärande. Med hjälp av parkour tar traceurs över ägandet av sitt egna lärande och hittarmöjligheter att kunna uttrycka sig själva [6]. En naturlig del av parkour är vikten som läggs påatt vara medveten om sina egna förmågor och mål med sitt lärande. Genom att dela med sigav resultatet av detta lärande skapas basen av den kollaborativa läromiljön hos parkour.I denna uppsats presenteras en mobil Android applikation: Vault. Vault kombinerar mobilelearning med relational learning och använder sig av fördelarna av den kollaborativaläromodellen som existerar inom parkour. Tre populära mobila applikationer ämnade för lärandehar analyserats. Denna analys i samband resterande resultat har varit med och format designenoch utveckling av den presenterade applikationen Vault.Vault är även testad för att mäta dess potentiella fördelar av att användas som en allmänutbildningsapplikation, med ett fokus på relational learning. Detta test är beskrivet ochresultaten är presenterade. Avslutningsvis återfinns en diskussion angående resultaten från bådetestet av applikationen samt analysen och det teoretiska materialet som presenterats iuppsatsen. Denna diskussion följs av en sammanfattning som även innehåller förslag påframtida forskningsområden som kan utforskas vidare.This thesis presents research that addresses the educational change that arises in the era ofinternet, social media, online communities, and knowledge sharing on the web. During the lastdecade, the way people learn has seen a big shift from the traditional classroom that purelyuses printed material to the contemporary classroom that utilizes digital technologies for theteaching material [1]. Electronic learning is teaching using electronic resources instead of thetraditional printed material [2]. Mobile learning takes this concept one step further bycombining individualized learning with anytime and anywhere learning [2], enabled by thetechnological advances of mobile devices [3]. Relational learning is a way of learning in whichthe individuals involved learn from each other through the bilateral exchange of experiences andideas [4].Parkour, or the art of movement, has been presented as a collaborative learning model byO’Grady [5]. As parkour practitioner, also known as traceurs, play parkour they also provide aplatform for active learning where knowing and overcoming obstacles composes an educationalmodel. In this model, knowing and repeating is the key to the pursuit of learning. With play,parkour appropriates the spaces in which it takes place into an environment of learning. Byplaying, traceurs take ownership of their own learning process, finding the flow path that letsthem express themselves [6]. Inherent to the practice of parkour is the importance of selfawareness of one’s skills and learning goals, as well as recording and sharing the learningoutcomes. This, in turn, becomes the basic construct of a collaborative learning environment.In this thesis, an Android mobile application, called Vault is presented. Vault combines mobilelearning and relational learning, while at the same time reaping the reward of the communitybased learning model existing in parkour. The thesis also provides an analysis of popular mobilelearning apps. This analysis aides in shaping the design and development of the presentedapplication, Vault.Vault is also tested in order to gauge the potential benefits of using an application designed tobe a general-purpose educational application with a focus on relational learning. This test isdetailed, and the results are presented. The findings from these results, and the results fromthe aforementioned analysis and the theory presented in this thesis, are discussed and futurelines of research are presented.
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Soundararajan, Shvetha. "Agile Requirements Generation Model: A Soft-structured Approach to Agile Requirements Engineering." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/34511.
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The agile principles applied to software engineering include iterative and incremental development, frequent releases of software, direct stakeholder involvement, minimal documentation and welcome changing requirements even late in the development cycle. The Agile Requirements Engineering applies the above mentioned principles to the Requirements Engineering process.
Agile Requirements Engineering welcomes changing requirements even late in the development cycle. This is achieved by using the agile practice of evolutionary requirements which suggests that requirements should evolve over the course of many iterations rather than being gathered and specified upfront. Hence, changes to requirements even late in the development cycle can be accommodated easily.
There is however, no real process to the agile approach to Requirements Engineering. In order to overcome this disadvantage, we propose to adapt the Requirements Generation Model (a plan-driven Requirements Engineering model) to an agile environment in order to structure the Agile Requirements Engineering process. The hybrid model named the Agile Requirements Generation Model is a soft-structured process that supports the intents of the agile approach. This model combines the best features of the Requirements Generation Model and Agile Software Development.Master of Science
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Pinto, Pedro Atã Ribeiro. "Niche builders: towards art as meta-semiotic engineering." Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, 2016. https://repositorio.ufjf.br/jspui/handle/ufjf/2232.
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CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
Este trabalho sugere uma estrutura teórica para uma Estética Cognitiva pragmaticamente orientada, baseada na Filosofia de Processos e Semiótica Cognitiva de Charles S. Peirce. Esta abordagem pouco explorada é capaz de fornecer novos métodos e premissas para a investigação da relação complexa entre obras de arte, significado, ambiente e artefatos, paradigmas artísticos, e criatividade. Nós oferecemos: (i) uma noção de criatividade artística relacionada as dinâmicas de construção de nicho cognitivo; (ii) um modelo da relação entre significado, criatividade, artefatos e nichos cognitivos; (iii) um modelo de construção de nicho cognitivo através de semiose icônica. As contribuições desta dissertação à Semiótica Cognitiva e Filosofia da Arte incluem, principalmente: a aproximação interdisciplinar entre conceitos e ferramentas teóricas oriundas da Filosofia de Processos, Semiótica, Solução Situada de Problemas, e Biologia Evolutiva; o fornecimento de uma série de análise de exemplos incluindo dança, literatura, música e tarefas de solução de problemas; a sugestação de uma estrutura conceitual para abordar fenômenos estéticos cognitivos.
This work suggests a framework for a pragmatist oriented Cognitive Aesthetics based on Peirce's Process Philosophy of Signs and Cognitive Semiotics. This little explored approach is capable of providing new methods and premises for investigating the complex relationship between artworks, meaning, environment, artistic paradigms, and creativity. We provide: (i) a notion of artistic creativity as related to cognitive niche construction dynamics; (ii) a model of the relationship between meaning, creativity, artifacts and cognitive niches; (iii) a model of cognitive niche construction through iconic semiosis. The contributions of this thesis to Cognitive Semiotics and Philosophy of Art include, mainly: the interdisciplinary approximation between concepts and theoretical tools from Process Philosophy, Semiotics, Situated Problem Solving and Evolutionary Biology; the provision of a series of example analysis in dance, literature, music and in problem solving tasks; the suggestion of a conceptual framework to approach cognitive aesthetic phenomena.
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Ramanathan, Karthik Narayan. "Next generation seismic fragility curves for california bridges incorporating the evolution in seismic design philosophy." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/44883.
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Quantitative and qualitative assessment of the seismic risk to highway bridges is crucial in pre-earthquake planning, and post-earthquake response of transportation systems. Such assessments provide valuable knowledge about a number of principal effects of earthquakes such as traffic disruption of the overall highway system, impact on the regions' economy and post-earthquake response and recovery, and more recently serve as measures to quantify resilience. Unlike previous work, this study captures unique bridge design attributes specific to California bridge classes along with their evolution over three significant design eras, separated by the historic 1971 San Fernando and 1989 Loma Prieta earthquakes (these events affected changes in bridge seismic design philosophy). This research developed next-generation fragility curves for four multispan concrete bridge classes by synthesizing new knowledge and emerging modeling capabilities, and by closely coordinating new and ongoing national research initiatives with expertise from bridge designers.
A multi-phase framework was developed for generating fragility curves, which provides decision makers with essential tools for emergency response, design, planning, policy support, and maximizing investments in bridge retrofit. This framework encompasses generational changes in bridge design and construction details. Parameterized high-fidelity three-dimensional nonlinear analytical models are developed for the portfolios of bridge classes within different design eras. These models incorporate a wide range of geometric and material uncertainties, and their responses are characterized under seismic loadings. Fragility curves were then developed considering the vulnerability of multiple components and thereby help to quantify the performance of highway bridge networks and to study the impact of seismic design principles on the performance within a bridge class. This not only leads to the development of fragility relations that are unique and better suited for bridges in California, but also leads to the creation of better bridge classes and sub-bins that have more consistent performance characteristics than those currently provided by the National Bridge Inventory. Another important feature of this research is associated with the development of damage state definitions and grouping of bridge components in a way that they have similar consequences in terms of repair and traffic implications following a seismic event. These definitions are in alignment with the California Department of Transportation's design and operational experience, thereby enabling better performance assessment, emergency response, and management in the aftermath of a seismic event. The fragility curves developed as a part of this research will be employed in ShakeCast, a web-based post-earthquake situational awareness application that automatically retrieves earthquake shaking data and generates potential damage assessment notifications for emergency managers and responders.Errata added at request of advisor and approved by Graduate Office, March 15 2016.
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Heath, Brian L. "The History, Philosophy, and Practice of Agent-Based Modeling and the Development of the Conceptual Model for Simulation Diagram." Wright State University / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1269176275.
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Edmonds, Richard. "Proteolytic depilation of lambskins : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of philosophy in Bioprocess Engineering at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/892.
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The processing of lambskins plays an important role in the New Zealand meat industry. The use of enzyme dewooling offers considerable advantages over the conventional depilation method which generates unpleasant working conditions and poses product quality risks when not properly handled. Prior to this work it was unclear from the literature why the practice of enzymatic depilation had not generally been adopted by industry. The aim of this work was to determine the problems associated with enzymatic depilation and provide a mechanistic understanding of the dewooling and damaging processes of enzyme depilation to provide underpinning knowledge for the design of a successful enzymatic depilation system. It was found that variability in depilation between different regions of the skin resulted in either over exposure of the skin to the enzyme regent and subsequent damage or underexposure of the skin to the enzyme reagent and incomplete depilation. Two approaches were taken in the work: Firstly an attempt was made for the first time to understand the variability in enzymatic depilation so that the variability observed in enzymatic depilation could potentially be reduced, thereby allowing a complete depilation process with no overexposure. Secondly an investigation was made for the first time to understand the cause of damage to skins during the process of enzymatic depilation so that the enzyme depilation process could potentially be modified to avoid damage. Experimental work characterising the time course of depilation and damage development was carried out and compared with the variation of physical properties across the skin. Correlations between depilation and physical properties such as thickness, grease content and follicle density were found. Reduction in the variability of these properties would likely improve the evenness of depilation but would not reduce it enough to eliminate damage due to over exposure. A range of techniques including: immunohistology, 2-dimensional electrophoresis, matrix assisted laser desorption ionisation, and atomic force microscopy were used to probe the structural and biochemical mechanism of enzyme depilation and damage. In this way it was found that the removal of minor collagen components were the likely cause of damage observed. In particular the removal of collagen VI was associated with a disruption of the smooth mesh of fine collagen fibres observed at the surface of the leather. The key requirement identified for a successful enzyme depilation system was the use of a broad spectrum protease which has no activity against collagen VI. The means to select a protease with these attributes was also developed by adopting a micro depilation assay incorporating immunohistology. This knowledge will enable the future development of non damaging enzyme depilatory reagents that could revolutionise the industry.
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Karapa, Eleni. "Bio-membranes : a bio-logical approach to architecture." Virtual Press, 1996. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1033631.
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Bio-membranes: A Biological Approach to Architecture The desire to introduce an area of study which can potentially inform the field of architecture on a theoretical as well as on a practical level, is the primary aim of this creative project. More specifically, the interest of this work is focused on the identification of useful processes deriving from the world of biology and their utilization in the world of architecture. The designation of an alternative path for perceiving and understanding processing and principles that may be of use in the reconfiguration of various architectural design applications is in quest. In search of a biological model that can potentially inform the field of architecture and provide enough feedback concerning the understanding of "processing" and "principles", biomembrane systems have been designated as the appropriate subject of study. The study and analysis of the structural and functional aspects of the bio-membranes as well as the extraction of useful principles that are derived from this study consist the first part of this work. The second part describes the implementation of these principles into various architectural applications while it challenges existing paradigms and introduces new ways of looking into the realm of architectural theory.Department of Architecture
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Sutharshan, Anuradha. "Human factors and cultural influences in implementing agile philosophy and agility in global software development." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2013. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/587.
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As software becomes increasingly important to all aspects of industry, developers should be encouraged to adopt best practice and hence improve the quality of the processes used, and achieve targets relating to time, budget and quality. In the software industry, several software methodologies have been used to address software development problems; however some of these processes may be too bureaucratic. The Agile Alliance formed in 2001, sought to address this problem; accordingly, they developed a manifesto and twelve principles, to which all agile software methods adhere. The purpose of the manifesto and its principles is to uncover better ways of developing software.
Agile software development methods seem to address the software development industry’s need for more agile processes that are responsive to changes during software development. Agile values and principles require a major cultural change for software managers, e.g. collective team responsibility and self-organisation, especially in large organisations with a strong culture of planning and centralised power. In large global organisations, this issue is likely to be exacerbated by cultural diversity. The objective of this thesis is to analyse the possibility, of using agile methods or practices in different cultures, and study what changes are required, to adapt agile approaches to different global application development issues. The study found that certain agile practices can be useful in different cultures and some practices required major cultural adaptation. A study of suitable practices for different cultures such as Australia, India and the United Kingdom and the associated suggested changes required are the main areas of study.
Human factors have been identified by researchers and practitioners to impact on software development projects. Similarly, cultural differences may also be influential in a global market. The principles of agile software development focus on iterative adaptation and improvement of the activities of individual software development teams to increase effectiveness. This research programme focused specifically on national culture based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, Hall’s cultural dimensions and the relationships between different aspects of national culture and the implementation of agile methods. To investigate this aspect of software development, a set of cultural dimensions and consolidated cultural agile attributes were developed, that are considered necessary for implementing agile methods. Based on relevancy, cultural dimensions such as Individualism/Collectivism, Power distance index, Uncertainty avoidance index, Time and Context were selected and studied. Some of cultural agile attributes studied include Transparency, Dedicated team, Decision making, Tolerance for change, Time keeping and Authoritative. This set was identified from a literature review on culture for agile methods, a detailed analysis of relevant commonly used agile methods and from feedback from agile experts. This thesis involves qualitative interviews conducted in Australia, India, and the UK using an interpretive paradigm and aims to identify cultural dimensions to implement agile methods in the software engineering community.
The results of this research programme provide an analytical comparative framework for implementing agile methods in different cultures, and insight into how cultural differences may affect a software project and how these challenges can be addressed through agile principles.
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BHAT, MANOJ MANJUNATH, and VIGNESH BHANDARKAR. "Investigating the impact of lean philosophy for identification and reduction of delays associated with performance of production line." Thesis, Tekniska Högskolan, Jönköping University, JTH, Produktionsutveckling, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-49420.
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In the present world scenario, the rapid industrialization and growth of manufacturing sector has led to the rise of large number of companies focusing on increase in profitability for sustaining the company’s profit margin at a higher level. While most of the companies fail to differentiate between productivity, profitability and performance as all the three growth indicators have different factors affecting them. The productivity of a system is evaluated through the ratio of output and input whereas the profitability is evaluated by measuring the capital flow. But the performance of any system is measured by the speed, quality and time consumed for delivery of a product. Thus, the preliminary growth indicator to be focused by any company must be productivity as it defines the effective input and efficient output of a system or production line and further provide attention for performance. Any productive system to function smoothly must include less amount of wastes, these wastes need not be a particular form. According to lean philosophy there are basically eight wastes arising in a system which has to be considered for elimination or reduction preferably. These wastes not only affect a particular process, while causes negative effects on the performance of entire system by causing delays in the process which increases nonvalue added time and reduces the actual operating time of a process. The present study focuses on exploring lean philosophy for identifying the existing delays of a production system and to further investigate the root causes influencing these delays which effect delivery of product. This study involves a deductive approach of qualitative type of research and the methods used for data collection includes a single case study with systematic literature review of data on which analysis is carried out and derived results are concluded in the final chapter of this research. The conclusion will be based on the results obtained from analysis of data carried out with the aid of tools existing under lean philosophy. The research is concluded by suggesting the solution for reducing delays utilizing simple tools of lean philosophy which can be utilized by manufacturing firms with effective utilization of existing machinery, men and methods and low investment of capital.
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Hill, Glen 1955. "The architecture of circularity : design, Heidegger and the earth." Phd thesis, Faculty of Architecture, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/4039.
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Rubadiri, Lindiwe. "Evacuation modelling of mixed-ability populations in fire emergencies." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 1994. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/1704/.
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UK statistics have shown that a significant percentage of fatalities in fires have suffered from some kind of disability. In this context 'disability' relates to a person's physical or mental condition that impinges on their ability to react and move promptly in an emergency. Various evacuation modelling techniques are being adopted to study the movement of occupants during emergencies since the exposure of people to fires for experimental purposes is unethical. However, many evacuation models have ignored the effects of disability on escape potential and therefore tend to predict optimal evacuation times. Moreover, whilst providing some valuable insights into certain factors affecting occupant movement, current models are generally presented in isolation and fail to define a general framework for designing solutions to fire safety engineering problems. The purpose of this research programme was to develop a more general methodology for predicting evacuation times of mixed-ability populations. This was made possible through the development and use of a novel concept of evacuation peiformance index (EPI), which is the relative ease of evacuating a disabled person compared to an able-bodied person, founded on a consideration of the effects of disabilities and mobility aids on evacuation times. The author shows how this concept relates three aspects of fire safety, namely, individual characteristics of disabled occupants, the amount of assistance they require, and building design and environmental factors. She contends that the evacuation peifornzance index of a class of individuals is primarily dependent on these three categories. Experimental data to verify the above claim was collected from careflully monitored evacuation drills involving a group of disabled people. Their EPIs were determined along a pre-defined route from which their evacuation times were calculated. Comparisons between predicted times using the EPI concept and measured times from alternative empirical data were seen to be in reasonable agreement. An iterative design procedure is also suggested; one that is capable of predicting worst possible evacuation times by incorporating measures of EPI and escape route dimensions and details. The EPI concept provides fire safety engineering with a logical design philosophy, which is flexible and easily comprehensible. It endeavours to increase understanding of evacuation of disabled people, and provide a simplified mechanism for fire safety design and planning of evacuation procedures.
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Proske, Dirk. "Katalog der Risiken - Risiken und ihre Darstellung." Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2008. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-ds-1218786958574-17367.
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Die Welt wird beherrscht durch Veränderung. Von den kleinsten Elementarteilchen bis zu den größten Galaxien kann man ein Entstehen und Vergehen beobachten. Diese Regel schließt auch die lebende Materie mit ein. Wir sehen Bäume wachsen oder das Getreide auf den Feldern reifen und wir müssen erkennen, daß auch wir, die Menschen, diesem Gesetz der Veränderung, dieser Vergänglichkeit unterliegen....
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Bueno, Márcio Reginaldo. "Método para identificação de oportunidades de melhoria em produtos através da avaliação de dados provenientes de cobertura de garantia." Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná, 2013. http://repositorio.utfpr.edu.br/jspui/handle/1/875.
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As necessidades impostas pelo mercado fazem com que as empresas desenvolvam produtos cada vez mais complexos sob o ponto de vista tecnológico, incorporando novas funções a produtos já desenvolvidos e buscando continuamente a melhoria dos produtos e processos de fabricação para manutenção de sua competitividade. Ao mesmo passo que é vital para uma empresa inovar e aperfeiçoar seus produtos, deve-se considerar a grande utilização de recursos da engenharia e outros custos associados às Mudanças de Engenharia, especialmente às mal planejadas. O objetivo desse trabalho é a criação de um método para auxiliar a tomada de decisão para Mudanças de Engenharia através da identificação de oportunidades de melhorias de produtos percebidas pelos clientes, com utilização de dados provenientes da cobertura de garantia. Como parte da abordagem metodológica, um estudo de caso numa empresa parceira do setor de autopeças foi utilizado para identificar oportunidades de melhoria de produto. O método proposto utiliza dados provenientes de cobertura de garantia (dados de campo), que são analisados sob seis diferentes perspectivas de concentração de falhas. Em seguida, a aplicação do método em um caso hipotético foi realizada. Este trabalho contribui para o planejamento da capacidade da engenharia, a priorização de Mudanças de Engenharia com valor percebido pelo cliente, e a correta definição do produto conforme o mercado de aplicação. Com dados mais confiáveis, a tomada de decisão passa a ser mais eficaz para o gerenciamento de determinada Mudança de Engenharia, focando em melhoria de produtos que serão realmente percebidas pelo cliente. Assim, podem ser definidos os requisitos corretos de projeto para um determinado mercado, planejamento de alocação de recursos em diferentes projetos e priorização de temas críticos.The needs imposed by the market demand that companies develop products more complex under the technological point of view, incorporating new functions to products already developed and continuously seeking to improve products and manufacturing processes to maintain its competitiveness. At the same step that is vital for a company to innovate and improve its products, it must be considered the wide use of engineering resources and costs associated with engineering changes, especially the poorly planned ones. The aim of this work is the creation of a method in order to support the decision-making for engineering changes by identifying opportunities for improvement on product that can be perceived by customers, using data from warranty records. As part of the methodological approach, a case study at a partner company in the automotive parts industry was used to identify opportunities for product improvement. The method uses data from warranty records (field data), which are analyzed in six different perspectives of failures concentration. Then, the application of the method in a hypothetical case was performed. This work contributes to the planning of engineering capacity, prioritizing of engineering changes with perceived value by the customer and the correct definition of the product according to the market application. With more reliable data, decision-making becomes more effective for managing certain engineering change, focusing on improving products that will actually be perceived by the customer. Thus, it can be set the right design requirements for a particular market, planning for resource allocation on different projects and prioritization of critical issues.
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Powell, Nicola. "Biological phosphorus removal by microalgae in waste stabilisation ponds : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Engineering at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1128.
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Waste stabilisation ponds (WSP) are an important wastewater treatment technology used by thousands of communities around the world. Unfortunately, phosphorus removal in WSP is generally low and inconsistent. The aim of this work was to investigate biological phosphorus removal by microalgae in WSP. Luxury uptake of phosphorus, which is the accumulation of polyphosphate, is known to occur in microalgae in natural systems such as lakes; however, this mechanism has not previously been studied under WSP conditions. Three methods were used in the laboratory to investigate luxury uptake and it was shown for the first time that luxury uptake of phosphorus can occur in microalgae under typical WSP conditions. Acid-insoluble polyphosphate (AISP) is a form of phosphorus storage and acid soluble polyphosphate (ASP) is used for synthesis of cellular constituents. However, the findings of this thesis indicate that ASP may also act as a form of short term storage. The environmental factors influencing luxury uptake were investigated using laboratory experiments conducted under controlled conditions. The key environmental factors were the phosphate concentration in the wastewater, light intensity and temperature. A higher phosphate concentration increased the amount of ASP accumulation and also resulted in AISP being stored within the cells instead of being consumed for growth. Higher light intensity increased ASP accumulation, but as a consequence of elevated growth, the ASP was rapidly consumed. Temperature influenced the rate of AISP accumulation and little if any was accumulated at low temperatures. The fate of polyphosphate in the sludge layer was also studied and it was shown that polyphosphate was degraded resulting in phosphate release. Therefore, to maximise phosphorus removal the microalgae needs to be harvested. Field work showed that at times the biomass contained almost four times the amount of phosphorus required for growth which confirms that luxury uptake does indeed occur in full-scale WSP. To improve phosphorus removal in WSP both luxury uptake and the biomass concentration need to be maximised simultaneously. With this new understanding of biological phosphorus removal in WSP and the key environmental factors required it may be possible to develop a new phosphorus removal process utilising luxury uptake by microalgae.
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Qi, Ziming. "Real-time adaptive noise cancellation for automatic speech recognition in a car environment : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Engineering at Massey University, School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Auckland, New Zealand." Massey University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/812.
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This research is mainly concerned with a robust method for improving the performance of a real-time speech enhancement and noise cancellation for Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) in a real-time environment. Therefore, the thesis titled, “Real-time adaptive beamformer for Automatic speech Recognition in a car environment” presents an application technique of a beamforming method and Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) method. In this thesis, a novel solution is presented to the question as below, namely: How can the driver’s voice control the car using ASR? The solution in this thesis is an ASR using a hybrid system with acoustic beamforming Voice Activity Detector (VAD) and an Adaptive Wiener Filter. The beamforming approach is based on a fundamental theory of normalized least-mean squares (NLMS) to improve Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR). The microphone has been implemented with a Voice Activity Detector (VAD) which uses time-delay estimation together with magnitude-squared coherence (MSC). An experiment clearly shows the ability of the composite system to reduce noise outside of a defined active zone. In real-time environments a speech recognition system in a car has to receive the driver’s voice only whilst suppressing background noise e.g. voice from radio. Therefore, this research presents a hybrid real-time adaptive filter which operates within a geometrical zone defined around the head of the desired speaker. Any sound outside of this zone is considered to be noise and suppressed. As this defined geometrical zone is small, it is assumed that only driver's speech is incoming from this zone. The technique uses three microphones to define a geometric based voice-activity detector (VAD) to cancel the unwanted speech coming from outside of the zone. In the case of a sole unwanted speech incoming from outside of a desired zone, this speech is muted at the output of the hybrid noise canceller. In case of an unwanted speech and a desired speech are incoming at the same time, the proposed VAD fails to identify the unwanted speech or desired speech. In such a situation an adaptive Wiener filter is switched on for noise reduction, where the SNR is improved by as much as 28dB. In order to identify the signal quality of the filtered signal from Wiener filter, a template matching speech recognition system that uses a Wiener filter is designed for testing. In this thesis, a commercial speech recognition system is also applied to test the proposed beamforming based noise cancellation and the adaptive Wiener filter.
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Srichantra, Arunee. "Studies of UHT-plant fouling by fresh, recombined and reconstituted whole milk : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Food Engineering." Massey University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/961.
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The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of preheat treatments on fouling by fresh whole milk (FWM), recombined whole milk (RCB) and reconstituted whole milk (Recon) in the high-temperature heater of indirect UHT plants. Various preheat treatments prior to evaporation during milk powder manufacture were applied to skim milk powder (SMP, 75 °C 2 s, 85 °C, 155 s and 95 °C, 155 s) and whole milk powder (WMP, 95 °C, 33 s). These preheat treatments were so-called “evaporator preheat treatments”. Skim milk powder (SMP) and whole milk powder (WMP) were derived from the same original batch of pasteurised FWM to remove the effects of the variation in milk composition between different milk batches. These SMPs were recombined with anhydrous milk fat and water to prepare RCB, and WMPs were reconstituted with water to prepare Recon. Then, (homogenized) FWM, RCB and Recon were subjected to various preheat treatments (75 °C, 11 s, 85 °C, 147 s and 95 °C, 147 s) prior to UHT processing. These preheat treatments were so-called “UHT preheat treatments”. Temperature difference (hot water inlet temperature – milk outlet temperature) was taken as a measure of the extent of fouling in the high-temperature heater. The slope of the linear regression of temperature difference versus time (for two hours of UHT processing) was taken as fouling rate (°C/h). Increasing both evaporator and UHT preheat treatments resulted in increasing fouling rate and total deposit weight for all three whole milk types for several milk batches. In the case of FWM, there was no reduction in fouling rate with increasing UHT preheat treatment whether FWM was homogenized then preheated, preheated then homogenized or not homogenized at all. These findings, which are wholly consistent and well replicated, are in apparent conflict with the results of most previous comparable studies. Possible reasons for this are explained. Further investigations of the effects of homogenization relating to the role of whey protein on the surface of the fat globules showed that whey protein associated with the membrane covering the surface of fat globules for homogenized then preheated FWM, RCB and Recon and that association increased with increasing heating process stage. The increasing association of whey protein with the milk fat globules membrane with increasing severity of heating process stage became faster when preheat treatment was more severe: the association of whey protein plateaued on intermediate temperature heating when the milks were preheated at 75°C, 11 s and on preheating when the milks were preheated at 95°C, 147 s. In the case of FWM, the thickness of the membrane covering the surface of fat globules for homogenized then preheated FWM, which increased with the severity of heating process stage, was greater than the thickness of the membrane in preheated then homogenized FWM. Preheating then homogenization resulted in the greater interfacial spreading of small molecules on the surface of fat globules, i.e. whey protein or small molecules from the disintegration of casein micelles during preheating. Possible basic mechanisms for UHT fouling in the high-temperature heater include: the reduction in the solubility of calcium phosphate and the deposition of protein as fat-bound protein and non-fat-bound protein. When non-fat-bound protein in milk plasma deposited, it could be a carrier for the deposition of mineral, such as, the precipitate of calcium phosphate in the casein micelles or the deposition of complexes between whey protein and casein micelles.
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Shaban, Mohammed Z. "On-Farm Water Management Game With Heuristic Capabilities." DigitalCommons@USU, 2012. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/1255.
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A modern computer-based simulation tool (WaterMan) in the form of a game for on-farm water management was developed for application in training events for farmers, students, and irrigators. The WaterMan game utilizes an interactive framework, thereby allowing the user to develop scenarios and test alternatives in a convenient, risk-free environment. It includes a comprehensive soil water and salt balance calculation algorithm. It also employs heuristic capabilities for modeling all of the important aspects of on-farm water management, and to provide reasonable scores and advice to the trainees.
Random events (both favorable and unfavorable) and different strategic decisions are included in the game for more realism and to provide an appropriate level of challenge according to player performance. Thus, the ability to anticipate the player skill level, and to reply with random events appropriate to the anticipated level, is provided by the heuristic capabilities used in the software. These heuristic features were developed based on a combination of two artificial intelligence approaches: (1) a pattern recognition approach; and (2) reinforcement learning based on a Markov Decision Processes approach, specifically, the Q-learning method. These two approaches were combined in a new way to account for the difference in the effect of actions taken by the player and action taken by the system on the game world. The reward function for the Q-learning method was modified to reflect the anticipated type of the WaterMan game as what is referred to as a partially competitive and partially cooperative game.
Twenty-two different persons classified under three major categories (1) practicing farmers; (2) persons without an irrigation background; and (3) persons with an irrigation background, were observed while playing the game, and each of them filled out a questionnaire about the game. The technical module of the game was validated in two ways: through conducting mass balance calculations for soil water content and salt content over a period of simulation time, and through comparing the WaterMan technical module output data in calculating the irrigation requirements and the use of irrigation scheduling recommendations with those obtained from the same set of input data to the FAO CropWat 8 software. The testing results and the technical validation outcomes demonstrate the high performance of the WaterMan game as a heuristic training tool for on-farm water management.
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Bennett, Hayden Albert Edward. "Aspects of fouling in dairy processing : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Food Engineering at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/981.
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Fouling of heat treatment equipment in the dairy processing industry is an expensive and persistent problem. The objective of this work was to develop a better understanding of the mechanisms of dairy fouling in heat exchangers and identify methods to control this build-up. This was part of a larger project investigating the interaction between spore-forming thermophilic bacilli (thermophiles) contamination and fouling deposits on internal surfaces of equipment. Two systems were developed to monitor the onset and build-up of fouling on the internal surfaces of two research heat exchangers. The first used a commercial sensor to measure the local heat flux and the temperature on the hot side of a plate type heat exchanger. The heat transfer coefficient was calculated and normalised with its value at the start of the run to reflect the contribution of fouling deposits to the thermal resistance, thus giving a real-time estimate of the rate of fouling. The second system used an energy balance over a tubular type heat exchanger and measured inlet and outlet temperatures to estimate the overall heat transfer coefficient thus giving a global measurement of fouling over the tubular heat exchanger. In both systems the plot of normalised heat transfer coefficient over time often stayed constant over an induction period, which was followed by a falling period indicative of growth in the fouling layer thickness and/or mass. Each system was validated by comparing the final value of the normalised heat transfer coefficient with direct measurements of fouling made at the end of a run namely: fouling deposit height for the local measurement and fouling deposit mass for the global measurement. The normalised heat transfer coefficient reported by each system correlated well with the corresponding direct measurement of the fouling layer. An important factor identified in this study was the effect of air bubble nucleation on fouling deposits. It was shown that bubbles that formed on the heated surface greatly reduced the length of the induction period to a matter of seconds rather than hours, as found in previous studies of fouling in the absence of surface bubbles. The rate of fouling was also enhanced while the bubbles remained at the surface. The structure of bubble type fouling layers was linked to the behaviour of the bubbles at the heated surface. Visual observations of these bubbles showed evidence of growth, vibration and coalescence during their period of attachment to the heated surface. Deposits from bubble type fouling consisted of all solid components found in the original milk solution, except lactose, in approximately the same ratio. By contrast fouling deposits reported in the literature with systems operating under the traditional protein denaturation mechanism were reported to consist mainly of whey proteins. Bubble induced fouling can be limited in a number of ways, the most effective being to maintain a high operating pressure in the equipment to ensure nucleation does not occur. Experiments conducted in this study showed that a pressure of 130 kPa.g was sufficient to suppress all bubble nucleation at the heated surface at a temperature of 90°C. Another method identified was the use of high linear fluid velocities to entrain any surface bubbles into the processing stream immediately upon nucleation. Linear velocities above 1.0 m/s were shown to achieve this goal in the miniature plate heat exchanger tested. However, this method is only partially successful because the local linear velocity varies with position in heat exchange equipment of complex geometries and can drop below the mainstream average velocity causing surface bubbles to form, especially in recirculation regions behind flow obstacles. A more reliable method, in situations where high operating pressures could not be used, involved conditioning the heated surface with a thin protein layer during the first few minutes of a run. Conditioning the surface resulted in bubble suppression even at high temperatures and low pressures, thus greatly extending the length of the induction period. Trials performed in this study showed that the addition of a proteolytic enzyme produced by psychrotrophic microbes greatly increased fouling. The enzyme destabilised the caseins which could attach directly to the heat exchange surface independently from the bubble fouling mechanism. Thus the quality of the milk is another important factor to consider. However, the addition of enzymes produced by thermophilic bacilli isolated from milk powder plants did not increase fouling. A theory describing the air bubble induced fouling mechanism is presented along with recommendations on how to reduce this fouling contamination in processing equipment.
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Van, der Werff Matthew John. "Development of digital instrumentation for bond rupture detection : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/857.
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In the medical world the precise identification of a disease can take longer than it is safe to wait to start treatment so there is a need for faster and more precise biosensors. Bond Rupture is a new sensor technique that maybe able to improve disease detection. It does this by inducing bonds to rupture from the surface, and also measuring the point at which this rupture occurs this enables the forces to be measured on the surface. Specifically, this project has focused on the application of Bond Rupture to detecting antigens when bound to a surface using their specific antibodies, and the idea that the rupture force of these antigens can also be measured. The sensor that this project is based around is the Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM), which oscillates horizontally when a voltage is applied, and can also be used to measure mass change on its surface via change in resonant frequency. The aim of this project was to investigate possible Bond Rupture detection methods and techniques and has involved the development of a high speed digital electronics system, for the purposes of inducing and detecting Bond Rupture. This has involved the development of a FPGA based high speed transceiver board which is controlled by a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), as well as the development of various graphical user interfaces for end user interaction. Bond rupture testing was carried out by rupturing beads from the surface of a QCM in an experiment taking as little as 20 seconds. The Bond Rupture effect has been observed via the high accuracy measurement of the frequency change while inducing Bond Rupture on the sensor, proving that the Bond Rupture effect indeed exists. The research performed is believed to be a world first in terms of the method used and accuracy acquired.
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Timm, Maria Isabel. "Elaboração de projetos como estratégia pedagógica para o ensino de Engenharia (curso à distância de projeto no modelo e-learning-by-doing)." reponame:Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da UFRGS, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10183/13747.
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O trabalho contextualiza historicamente, descreve e discute características de um possível perfil cognitivo dos engenheiros, atualizando-o em relação às necessidades da sociedade e da cultura contemporâneas, com base no paradigma multidisciplinar das Ciências Cognitivas, apresentado a partir da obra Como a mente funciona, de Steven Pinker, e em pesquisa bibliográfica sobre autores da área de Engenharia. Busca analisar criticamente as necessidades do ensino contemporâneo de Engenharia, identificando estratégia didáticopedagógica compatível com as características descritas no perfil. A elaboração didática de projetos foi a estratégia escolhida, por apresentar a mesma estrutura cognitiva (raciocínios, operações mentais, comportamentos, atitudes e posturas) da atividade profissional, bem como por caracterizar um contexto integrado de conceitos teóricos, atividades práticas, tomadas de decisão e vivências que deverão constituir um apoio à consolidação da memória de longa duração dos alunos, e, por conseguinte, de seu aprendizado, segundo conceitos apresentados por Roger Schank na obra Dynamic Memory Revisited. O trabalho se desenvolve com a escolha de um modelo de curso à distância estruturado a partir do mesmo paradigma, para aplicar a estratégia escolhida. Trata-se do modelo e-learning-by-doing, apresentado por Roger Schank na obra Designing world-class e-learning. São descritas atividades de planejamento, implantação e análise qualitativa de resultados de um curso-piloto à distância (com o referido modelo), de elaboração didática de um projeto de Engenharia Geotécnica, com alunos de mestrado do Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Civil, da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, sob coordenação do prof. Fernando Schnaid. A experiência teve excelente receptividade e aproveitamento dos alunos. O framework teórico-conceitual multidisciplinar mostrou-se enriquecedor, apontando possibilidades de continuidade da pesquisa sobre ensino de Engenharia, relacionadas ao aprofundamento do perfil dos engenheiros, ao uso didáticopedagógico de projetos e ao modelo e-learning-by-doing, todos eles com aplicação na prática docente e na formação de professores. O trabalho constituiu pesquisa para obtenção do título de doutor, no Programa de Pós-Gradução em Informática na Educação (PPGIE) da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), na linha de pesquisa Paradigmas para a Pesquisa sobre Ensino Científico e Tecnológico.This work describes and discusses engineering profile from historical, cultural and cognitive perspectives, in an attempt to fit contemporary needs based on the multidisciplinary paradigm of Cognitive Sciences. Emphasis is given to Steven Pinker’s book How the mind works and other bibliographic research reported within the Engineering domain. Needs of contemporary Engineering education are analyzed, choosing a pedagogical strategy compatible with the described profile. Didactic project making was the chosen strategy - it comprises the same cognitive structure of the professional activity, including way of thinking, mental operations, behavior, attitude and states of mind. It can also be seen as a theoretical, practical, decision making and living context that supports long term memory consolidation and, as a consequence, supports the activity of learning, following ideas presented by Roger Schank’s book Dynamic Memory Revisited. The work follows a distance learning course based on the same cognitive paradigm chosen to represent the adopted model and strategy. The strategy is based on e-learning-by-doing model introduced by Roger Schank’s book Designing world-class e-learning, which is adopted to plan and to implement an experimental distance course for a project on Geotechnical Engineering, to masters students from the Civil Engineering Graduation Program at Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, coordinated by professor Fernando Schnaid. The experience is reported and results are qualitatively analyzed with excellent responses from students in both participation and performance. Theoretical and conceptual multidisciplinary frameworks proved to be a reach framework to present and future research related to Engineering education, engineering profile, didactic use of projects adopting the e-learning-by-doing model. This concept can be applied to graduate and undergraduate courses and to teachers´ continuous education. The work is part of the requirements designed to obtain a PhD degree at the Informatics applied to Education Graduation Program (PPGIE), from Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil, in the research line of “Paradigms for the Research on Scientific and Technological Education”.
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Gilman, Andrew. "Least-squares optimal interpolation for direct image super-resolution : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/893.
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Image super-resolution aims to produce a higher resolution representation of a scene from an ensemble of low-resolution images that may be warped, aliased, blurred and degraded by noise. There are a variety of methods for performing super-resolution described in the literature, and in general they consist of three major steps: image registration, fusion and deblurring. This thesis proposes a novel method of performing the first two of these steps. The ultimate aim of image super-resolution is to produce a higher-quality image that is visually clearer, sharper and contains more detail than the individual input images. Machine algorithms can not assess images qualitatively and typically use a quantitative error criterion, often least-squares. This thesis aims to optimise leastsquares directly using a fast method, in particular one that can be implemented using linear filters; hence, a closed-form solution is required. The concepts of optimal interpolation and resampling are derived and demonstrated in practice. Optimal filters optimised on one image are shown to perform nearoptimally on other images, suggesting that common image features, such as stepedges, can be used to optimise a near-optimal filter without requiring the knowledge of the ground-truth output. This leads to the construction of a pulse model, which is used to derive filters for resampling non-uniformly sampled images that result from the fusion of registered input images. An experimental comparison shows that a 10th order pulse model-based filter outperforms a number of methods common in the literature. The use of optimal interpolation for image registration linearises an otherwise nonlinear problem, resulting in a direct solution. Experimental analysis is used to show that optimal interpolation-based registration outperforms a number of existing methods, both iterative and direct, at a range of noise levels and for both heavily aliased images and images with a limited degree of aliasing. The proposed method offers flexibility in terms of the size of the region of support, offering a good trade-off in terms of computational complexity and accuracy of registration. Together, optimal interpolation-based registration and fusion are shown to perform fast, direct and effective super-resolution.
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Bengtsson, Sebastian, and Sebastian Ohlin. "Potential benefits of Lean orientated goods receiving : A case study on how a Lean philosophy in the goods receiving process could affect a company’s value stream." Thesis, Tekniska Högskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, JTH, Industriell organisation och produktion, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-41518.
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Purpose – The purpose of the study is to Explore how the lean philosophy can affect the value flow of a manufacturing company’s goods receiving. To answer the purpose two research questions has been asked:1. Which lean tools or methods could be applied on a manufacturing company’s goods receiving?2. How can lean-orientated goods receiving lead to improved value flow?Method – To achieve the purpose a literature review and a case study has been conducted. The case study has had a deductive approach and used the both quantitative and qualitative data. The authors chose the data collection methods interviews, observations and document studies to collect empirical data which have then been analyzed against the theoretical framework with pattern matching to reach a result.Findings – The study has showed that Lean philosophy affects the value stream performance in various ways depending on which tools or approaches the managers have. The authors explored different Lean tools and methods both separately and combined and noticed that to gain as much as possible from Lean tools and methods are most effective when combined to an approach. Although some Lean tools in goods receiving affect the value flow in a positive matter some would probably not. Due to the uneven flow of incoming shipments JIT was not seen appropriate to implement unless shipments could be assured to arrive as planned, when needed and with correct amount of goods.Conclusions & recommendations – By the study findings the authors were able to base two conclusions:1. To take full advantage of Lean tools and methods in goods receiving, these are best to be bundled together to an approach that is in accordance with the Lean philosophy at the organization.2. Good and competent leadership in the Lean philosophy is crucial to ensure continuous improvements in the organization.3. A Lean philosophy adapted in goods receiving is likely to ensure stability and reliability across the value stream which makes improvements possible and might lead to improved value stream performance.Based on these conclusions the authors recommend that when implementing or working with Lean managers should practice participatory leadership to ensure the commitment of workers, to lead by example and to get the correct current state view. It is also recommended that when implementing Lean tools in to the goods receiving process the holistic view is of high importance.
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Zahray, Walter Paul. "Electronic dissemination of scholarly journals an economic and technical analysis : a dissertation submitted to the Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering and Public Policy /." Pittsburgh : Carnegie Mellon University, 1990. http://books.google.com/books?id=z23gAAAAMAAJ.
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Punchihewa, Amal. "Synthetic test patterns and compression artefact distortion metrics for image codecs : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1131.
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This thesis presents a framework of test methodology to assess spatial domain compression artefacts produced by image and intra-frame coded video codecs. Few researchers have studied this broad range of artefacts. A taxonomy of image and video compression artefacts is proposed. This is based on the point of origin of the artefact in the image communication model. This thesis presents objective evaluation of distortions known as artefacts due to image and intra-frame coded video compression made using synthetic test patterns. The American National Standard Institute document ANSI T1 801 qualitatively defines blockiness, blur and ringing artefacts. These definitions have been augmented with quantitative definitions in conjunction with test patterns proposed. A test and measurement environment is proposed in which the codec under test is exercised using a portfolio of test patterns. The test patterns are designed to highlight the artefact under study. Algorithms have been developed to detect and measure individual artefacts based on the characteristics of respective artefacts. Since the spatial contents of the original test patterns form known structural details, the artefact distortion metrics based on the characteristics of those artefacts are clean and swift to calculate. Distortion metrics are validated using a human vision system inspired modern image quality metric. Blockiness, blur and ringing artefacts are evaluated for representative codecs using proposed synthetic test patterns. Colour bleeding due to image and video compression is discussed with both qualitative and quantitative definitions for the colour bleeding artefacts introduced. The image reproduction performance of a few codecs was evaluated to ascertain the utility of proposed metrics and test patterns.
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Lange, Sheila Edwards. "The master degree : a critical transition in STEM doctoral education /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/7655.
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Chapman, P. D. "Application of diffusion laws to composting : theory, implications, and experimental testing : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Ph.D. [i.e. Doctor of Philosophy] at Lincoln University /." Diss., Lincoln University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/819.
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Understanding the fundamentals of composting science from a pragmatic perspective of necessity involves mixtures of different sizes and types of particles in constantly changing environmental conditions, in particular temperature. The complexity of composting is affected by this environmental variation. With so much "noise" in the system, a question arises as to the need to understand the detail of this complexity as understanding any part of composting with more precision than this level of noise is not likely to result in greater understanding of the system. Yet some compost piles generate offensive odours while others don‟t and science should be able to explain this difference. A driver for this research was greater understanding of potential odour, which is assumed to arise from the anaerobic core of a composting particle. It follows that the size of this anaerobic core could be used as an indicator of odour potential. A first step in this understanding is the need to determine which parts of a composting particle are aerobic, from which the anaerobic proportion can be determined by difference. To this end, this thesis uses a finite volume method of analysis to determine the distribution of oxygen at sub-particle scales. Diffusion laws were used to determine the thickness of each finite volume. The resulting model, called micro-environment analysis, was applied to a composting particle to enable determination of onion ring type volumes of compost (called micro-environments) containing substrates (further subdivided into substrate fractions) whose concentrations could be determined to high precision by the application of first-order degradation kinetics to each of these finite volumes. Determination of the oxygen concentration at a micro-environment's inner boundary was achieved by using the Stępniewski equation. The Stępniewski model was derived originally for application to soil aeration and enables each micro-environment to have its own oxygen uptake rate and diffusion coefficient. This first version of micro-environment analysis was derived from the simpler solution to diffusion laws, based on the assumption of non-diffusible substrate. It was tested against three sets of experimental data with two different substrates: Particle size trials using dog sausage as substrate – where the peak composting rate was successfully predicted, as a function of particle size. Temperature trials using pig faeces and a range of particle sizes – the results showed the potential of micro-environment analysis to identify intriguing temperature effects, in particular, a different temperature effect (Q10) and fraction proportion was indicated for each substrate fraction. Smaller particle sizes, and possibly outward diffusion of substrate confounded a clear experimental signal. Diffusion into a pile trials which showed that the time course of particles deeper in the pile could be predicted by the physics of oxygen distribution. A fully computed prediction would need an added level of computational complexity in micro-environment analysis, arising from there being two intertwined phases, gas phase and substrate (particle) phase. Each phase needs its own micro-environment calculations which can not be done in isolation from each other. Unexplainable parts of the composting time course are likely to be partly explained by the outward diffusion of substrate towards the inward-moving oxygen front. Although the possibility of alternative electron acceptors can not be discounted as a partial explanation. To test the theory, a new experimental reactor was developed using calorimetry. With an absolute sensitivity of 0.132 J hr-1 L-1 and a measurement frequency of 30 minutes, the reactor was able to detect the energy required to humidify the input air, and "see" when composting begins to decline as oxygen is consumed. Optimisation of the aeration pumping frequency using the evidence from the data was strikingly apparent immediately after setting the optimum frequency. Micro-environment analysis provides a framework by which several physical effects can be incorporated into compost science.
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Johnston, Christopher Troy. "VERTIPH : a visual environment for real-time image processing on hardware : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Systems Engineering at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1219.
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This thesis presents VERTIPH, a visual programming language for the development of image processing algorithms on FPGA hardware. The research began with an examination of the whole design cycle, with a view to identifying requirements for implementing image processing on FPGAs. Based on this analysis, a design process was developed where a selected software algorithm is matched to a hardware architecture tailor made for its implementation. The algorithm and architecture are then transformed into an FPGA suitable design. It was found that in most cases the most efficient mapping for image processing algorithms is to use a streamed processing approach. This constrains how data is presented and requires most existing algorithms to be extensively modified. Therefore, the resultant designs are heavily streamed and pipelined. A visual notation was developed to complement this design process, as both streaming and pipelining can be well represented by data flow visual languages. The notation has three views each of which represents and supports a different part of the design process. An architecture view gives an overview of the design's main blocks and their interconnections. A computational view represents lower-level details by representing each block by a set of computational expressions and low-level controls. This includes a novel visual representation of pipelining that simplifies latency analysis, multiphase design, priming, flushing and stalling, and the detection of sequencing errors. A scheduling view adds a state machine for high-level control of processing blocks. This extended state objects to allow for the priming and flushing of pipelined operations. User evaluations of an implementation of the key parts of this language (the architecture view and the computational view) found that both were generally good visualisations and aided in design (especially the type interface, pipeline and control notations). The user evaluations provided several suggestions for the improvement of the language, and in particular the evaluators would have preferred to use the diagrams as a verification tool for a textual representation rather than as the primary data capture mechanism. A cognitive dimensions analysis showed that the language scores highly for thirteen of the twenty dimensions considered, particularly those related to making details of the design clearer to the developer.
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Bendiksen, Roy Severeide. "Operasjonell ildstøtte : Potensial for 9x styrkemultiplikasjon ved bruk av digital kommunikasjon." Thesis, Försvarshögskolan, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:fhs:diva-7558.
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Militære operasjoner er i vedvarende endring, hvor en sentral utviklingstrend er bruk av tekniske hjelpemiddel. Dette har medført nye og mer effektive samhandlingsmåter og en påfølgende økning i innslag av fellesoperasjoner. Oppgaven handler om hvordan denne utviklingstrenden påvirker den operasjonelle ildstøttens bidrag til at landmakten kjerneoppdrag – å finne, binde og ramme motstan- deren. Dette tilnærmes gjennom å undersøke hvordan innføringen av digital kommunikasjon påvir- ker det operasjonelle ildstøttesystemets potensial for å skape effekt i det militære spillerom. Oppgavens undersøkelse viser at digital kommunikasjon gir ytelsesforbedring gjennom kompresjon av tid, hvilket i tur muliggjør situasjonsspesifikk styrkemultiplikasjon gjennom ekspansjon av rom. Samtidig indikeres det at situasjonsspesifikke kombinasjoner operasjonell ildstøtte har potensial for 3x ytelsesbedring og opp til 9x styrkemultiplikasjon, hvilket betyr at man kan bruke mindre ressurser for å oppnå samme effekt eller de samme ressurser for å oppnå en større effekt! Realisering av potensialet for styrkemultiplikasjon setter økte krav til den metodiske målbekjempningsprosessen og da spesielt kunnskap om egne muligheter og begrensninger. Dette handler om operasjonskunst og peker på viktigheten av systemkompetanse i planlegging og utførelse av operasjoner. Innføring av digital kommunikasjon må ses i sammenheng med hvordan pågående utviklingstrend skyver på det operasjonelle ildstøttesystemets sosio-tekniske balanse. Forståelse av fenomenet blir derfor viktig for videre funksjon- og kapabilitetsutvikling.
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Leonard, Pierre. "A strategic engineering philosophy." Thesis, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/24132.
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Economic and productive utilization of natural resources are central to fundamental Industrial Engineering science, whereas capitalistic corporate strategy is aimed at growth of shareholders capital investments made into capitalistic systems of organizations and industries. In this thesis it is established that Industrial Engineering principles are applicable, as a strategic tool, in the economic and productive utilization of corporate resources such as organizations within unrelated industries aimed at achieving the capitalistic corporate goal. In this expanded field of Industrial Engineering termed Strategic Industrial Engineering, scientific engineering knowledge is therefore applied to capitalistic systems with the strategic aim of accumulating capital for the corporate shareholders. The proposition of this thesis, termed A Strategic Industrial Engineering Philosophy, is primarily justified by applying the philosophical principle of sufficient reasoning. Secondary to this, scientific frameworks are proposed that support this expanded philosophy of Industrial Engineering by demonstrating the achievement of the capitalistic corporate goal. This is achieved through the following: -- Setting return on equity (ROE) as the scientific measure of capital accumulation; -- proposing a Strategic Industrial Engineering Process, aimed at achieving the capitalistic corporate goal, for further research. This process is based on the following: --- the relationship between the fundamental strategy and engineering processes; and --- fundamental corporate performance-regulating principles. -- demonstrating the validity of these performance-regulating principles through explorative statistical analyses. The proposed Strategic Industrial Engineering Process, to be fully defined through further research, is illustrated in Figure 1. See figure 1 in 00front Fundamental corporate strategies are proposed based on applying the Strategic Industrial Engineering Process as a strategic tool. These corporate strategies are based on the following, as indicated in Figure 2. -- Organisational competitiveness -- industry competitiveness; and -- cost of equity. See figure 2 in 00front In figure 3 it is illustrated that the following performance-regulating principles influence the accumulation of capital (ROE) for the benefit of capitalistic corporate shareholders. -- The competitiveness of its individual organizations; -- The individual organisations’ accumulation of capital relative to the cost of equity; -- The competitiveness of the industry structures that the corporation is exposed to; and -- Strategic fit benefits that improve the corporate performance too more than the average performance of its individual organizations. See figure 3 in 00front A corporation’s accumulation of capital is influence by the positions of its individual organizations on the industry ROE life cycle. The proposed industry ROE life cycle is illustrated in Figure 4. See figure 4 in 00front Lastly, the foremost intent with this thesis is to establish and demonstrate a specific way of thinking about the role of Industrial Engineering in corporate strategy.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2005.
Industrial and Systems Engineering
unrestricted
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Mendes, António Luis Martins. "Philosophy and ethics of aerospace engineering." Doctoral thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10400.6/4383.
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Engineering was a recognized human activity at a certain period of the history (17th / 18th centuries) when some militaries designed, constructed, operated, and maintained fortifications and engines of war, and then those activities were transferred into non-military applications. Engineering has continued to change geographically and socially and presently is extremely broad and its relevance it’s not solely technology based. However, its role in technology is decisive since is largely by technology that current society keeps its coherence. Philosophy of Technology has particularly attentive to the impact of technology on society and culture, rather than with technology itself. Actually, Philosophy has not paid adequate attention to engineering. On the contrary, at least since the 1960s, members of the philosophical community have been accusing engineers of polluting the natural world, transforming the climate, making useless consumer products, etc. Only in 1994 a new branch of Philosophy of Technology has emerged that is concerned with the technology itself, and may be called Engineering Philosophy of Technology or Philosophy and Ethics of Engineering. This is a new way of looking through engineering, that not only considers the ethical aspects but also many other modern issues that are being transformed by technical creations such as new existentialisms of risk projection, electronic networking, virtual reality, trans human and remote sensation and perception, graphic media presentations and probability analysis, interactive internet web sites, food, housing, transportation, communications, economics, etc.
The present work starts with an expedition to the history of the Aeronautical Engineering in parallel with the Philosophy and Ethics in order to demonstrate the relationship between them. This thesis is intended to show the link between the aerospace/aeronautical engineering and world-wide economy growth (or lack of it!). This is done by analyzing some economic data in terms of world impact as well as the relevant social aspects such as the salaries of the airplane industry in the United States, France and Brazil, and their relation to the company income and country. These countries were selected due to their constant increase in state-of-the-art equipment proven in companies like Boeing, Airbus and Embraer.A Engenharia é uma atividade humana reconhecida num determinado período da história (séculos XVII e XVIII), quando alguns militares projetaram, construíram, operaram e mantiveram fortificações e máquinas de guerra e, em seguida, essas atividades foram transferidas para aplicações não militares. A Engenharia continuou a mudar geográfica e socialmente e atualmente tem uma abrangência extremamente ampla e a sua relevância não é apenas baseada em tecnologia. No entanto, o seu papel na tecnologia é decisivo, pois é em grande parte pela tecnologia que a sociedade atual mantém sua coerência. A Filosofia da Tecnologia tem estado particularmente atenta ao impacto da tecnologia na sociedade e na cultura, mas não na própria tecnologia. Na verdade, a Filosofia não deu uma atenção adequada à engenharia. Pelo contrário, ao menos desde a década de 1960, membros da comunidade filosófica têm acusado os engenheiros de poluir o mundo natural, transformando o clima, fazendo produtos de consumo inúteis, etc. Somente em 1994 surgiu um novo ramo da Filosofia da Tecnologia que é se preocupa, também, com a própria tecnologia, e pode ser chamado Filosofia de Engenharia da Tecnologia (por contraponto à Filosofia de Humanidades da Tecnologia, versando apenas os aspetos das Humanidades – Humanities Philosophy of Technology) ou Filosofia e Ética da Engenharia. Trata-se de uma nova forma de olhar através da Engenharia, que não só considera os aspetos éticos, mas também muitos outros temas modernos que estão sendo transformados por criações técnicas como os novos existencialismos de projeção de riscos, redes informáticas, realidade virtual, sensação e perceção transumana e remota, apresentações gráficas e análise de probabilidades, sítios de internet interativos, alimentação, alojamento, transporte, comunicações, economia, etc. O presente trabalho começa com uma expedição à história da Engenharia Aeronáutica em paralelo com a Filosofia e Ética, a fim de demonstrar a relação entre eles. Esta tese destina-se a mostrar a ligação entre a engenharia Aeroespacial / Aeronáutica e o crescimento da economia mundial (ou falta dela!). Isto é feito analisando alguns dados econômicos em termos de impacto mundial, bem como os aspetos sociais relevantes, tais como os salários da indústria de aviões nos Estados Unidos, França e Brasil, e sua relação com o rendimento da empresa e país. Estes países foram selecionados devido ao constante aumento de equipamentos de última geração comprovados em empresas como Boeing, Airbus e Embraer.
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Chia-FuHsu and 許家輔. "Preliminary Trial for the establishment of the Flight Safety Engineering ─ Engineering Philosophy Perspective." Thesis, 2015. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/efbbp4.
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碩士國立成功大學
民航研究所
103
This study was an attempt to point at the direction for a preliminary trial of the establishment of the Flight Safety Engineering theory from the point of view of Engineering Philosophy. The purpose of establishing the Flight Safety Engineering is to quantify Flight Safety and allow a quantified safety for every situation when an aircraft navigates in the air. Most of the engineering theory as we know was invented by the Western scientists. To build the Flight Safety Engineering, one must study how the western scientists invented engineering theories. For this purpose, this study started by investigating how western thinking works and, with this in mind, bringing together the lines of thinking commonly existing behind the Western engineering knowledge. This provides a foundation of thinking on which the Flight Safety Engineering is built. The tool used to build the Western engineering knowledge was the results presented in this study – the Engineering Philosophy. This permits the construction of the Flight Safety Engineering theory from the point of view of the Engineering Philosophy, i.e., developing a governing equation that characterizes the quantified Flight Safety for any given situation. The engineering topics involved in this study include Structural Mechanics, Solid Mechanics, Fluid Mechanics, Hydrology, Soil Mechanics, Heat Transfer and Electro-Magnetics. The processes that these theories came to be were integrated to achieve the Engineering Philosophy – the mode of thinking behind the development of engineering theories, and the Flight Safety Engineering can be built from this point of view.
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Wang, Chien-chun, and 王建鈞. "A HYBID ALB APPROACH WITH CONCURRENT ENGINEERING AND JIT PHILOSOPHY." Thesis, 2005. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/05624933818793065432.
Full textAbstract:
碩士南華大學
管理科學研究所
93
To compute the traditional assembly line balance problem is to make sure that the summation of all work time of tasks in the workstation is less than or equal to the cycle time. However, such a method looks like rational but it produces a lot of slack time. So this study presents a hybrid assembly line balance approach with the considerations of concurrent engineering (CE) and just-in-time (JIT) philosophy to pursue the minimal idle rate (or maximal balancing efficiency). If tasks consider the synchronous production, the assembly line balancing problem is then to be complicated. Fortunately, the proposed Four-Position Coding Technique (FPCT) makes the above-mentioned issue can be functioned by LINGO software. Besides, this study proposes two structuralized nonlinear models, idle time - IT model and idle rate - IR model. The IT model considers JIT philosophy for pursuing the minimal total idle time, and the other one- IR model is to search the minimum resource wastes, that is, IR model is to search the minimum total idle rate. This study simulates the various cycle time (from 50 minutes to 185 minutes), and then to find out the optimal number of workstations for the given exemplified case. In addition, the 17 simulated samples from IR model is generated, and then computes the IWR index and balancing efficiency (1- idle rate) for each simulated sample. Through conducting t-test, the conclusion falls in the reject area, the significant differences between these two indexes are made. The possible reasons for explaining the above-mentioned phenomenon is that the main factor for changing IWR is the number of deployed workstations (the less number of deployed workstation makes the higher IWR), but the key factor for changing balancing efficiency is the cycle time. It shows that the major factors for changing IWR and balancing efficiency are different, so the replacement characteristic of these two indices can not exist. For summary, this study takes the concept of concurrent engineering into the type I problem of assembly line, and then provide the useful layout to the designer of assembly line.
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Groenewold, Benjamin. "Kingfishers and Criteria: a New Approach to the Engineering Design Method." Thesis, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10756/288493.
Full textAbstract:
The usual method of designing a solution for a problem, which applies general principles to a specific situation, tends to overlook the unique features of each situation and so must inevitably efface the very structure of what it means to create, and so resolve diversity and plurality into blank uniformity. This is grave problem which a renewed attention to the individuality of things might help resolve. This project considers the criticism of several thinkers (including John Duns Scotus, Martin Heidegger, Theodor Adorno, and J.C. Jones) on the schema of general and particular that undergirds the engineering design method. It then seeks to open up further the suggestions these thinkers have for a new approach to the design method not enthralled to an understanding of general categories, but grounded in a contemplation of the individual.
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Kozikoski, Valereto Deneb. "Aporias of Mobility: Amazonian Landscapes between Exploration and Engineering." Thesis, 2018. https://doi.org/10.7916/D8QV540Q.
Full textAbstract:
This dissertation argues that the journeys of naturalists, explorers, intellectuals, and engineers through the Amazon in the second half of the nineteenth and first decade of the twentieth century gave rise to perspectives that challenge foundational assumptions about technology in modern metropolitan centers. Chief among these assumptions are the ideas that technology contributes to specialization, the disenchantment of reality, the entrapment of the subject in the logistics of urban labor, and the removal of natural obstacles. The examination of the roles of nature and technology in texts and images of the period shows that travel and exploration were represented as experiences of enchantment and encounters with impassable terrains. The dissertation focuses on three interconnected cases to support its thesis: Euclides da Cunha’s reading of the naturalists in his essays on the Amazon; experiences and practices of exploration on the Madeira and Mamoré Rivers; and the construction of a railroad along these rivers to render the hauling of vessels over land and long voyages unnecessary. Developing a cultural-historical framework that counters narratives of technological domination and failure, the dissertation concludes that the tensions between exploration and engineering in these cases reveal the eschatological facets of the history of technology. The eschatological facets show both how technologies contribute to the construction of the farthest frontiers and how technologies themselves arrive at their final stages.
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Ghanbary, Abbass. "Collaborative business process engineering (CBPE) across multiple organisations." Thesis, 2007. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/11470.
Full textAbstract:
This research is an investigation into how organisations can engineer new collaborative business processes. This engineering of processes is based on technical advances, which enables organisations to enhance their communication and collaboration with their customer and each other. This research identifies how advanced technologies can be properly applied to create collaborative business processes of within and across organisations. This research has enabled this collaboration and extended its boundaries to facilitate dynamic collaborations amongst multiple organisations that may not necessarily be known to each other. The new model of collaboration achieves the recommended collaborative environment by restructuring the business processes for Web-based applications. This thesis also validates the proposed model for the collaboration in a global environment. This creation and validation of the model satisfies the requirements of a PhD-level research. The concept of Collaborative Business Process Engineering (CBPE) is unique in that it describes how cluster-based processes of multiple organisations can be engineered. Furthermore, this research also integrates the existing concepts of Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) and Business Process Management (BPM) in the model. CPBE is able to evaluate the impact of the interoperability of the organisations on their engineered business processes as well as their business structures. This research further demonstrates the implementation of CBPE in a proposed Collaborative Web-Based System (CWBS). This thesis discusses how the Web Services (WS) and mobile technologies, specifically Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI), influence the interoperation amongst multiple organisations. The impact of the WS on engineered business processes and the extension of this impact on multiple organisations and their clusters are included in this research. This thesis also describes the existing model of collaboration and provides a literature review to support the need for the proposed model of collaboration. Existing technologies for the engineering of the new collaborative business processes are explained. Detailed descriptions of the research methodologies (quantitative and qualitative), philosophies (interpretivist and constructivist) and theories (evolutionary and socio-technical) used are identified and described here. The dynamic aspects of collaboration in the proposed new model of collaboration, wherein organisations can enter and exit the collaboration at will are discussed. The thesis also discusses the factors influencing the collaboration, such as trust, security, confidence level and the availability of the channels for collaboration. The dynamic aspects of the proposed model are tested against the static aspects of the current model wherein the collaborating organisations need to set up prior contract before collaboration. A part of this study deals with evaluation of the significance of the CBPE for the organisations that adapt technologies such as Web Service and mobility. Finally, this thesis demonstrates an investigation in the impact of interoperability emanating from emerging technologies, specifically the Web Services technology, on organisations by providing a model as well as conceptual implementations. The proposed model of CBPE and the conceptual implementations facilitate the use of the emerging technologies for effective collaborations. These emerging technologies are presented and described in Chapter 2 while their impacts on the proposed model of CBPE are explained in Chapter 4. The proposed model in this thesis enables numerous businesses to collaborate electronically thereby producing dynamically collaborating groups/clusters. This thesis presents the modelling, understanding of collaborative business process that transcend the organisational boundaries, factors that influence collaborative business processes and the entry and exit criteria for these collaborative organisations.