Long-term effects of employer-based programs to motivate safety belt use. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Financial approach to industrial operations.

Mode of access: Internet.

Alternative harvest strategies to alleviate predation bottlenecks: a bioeconomic modeling approach to inform adaptive management

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

UML approach to the generation of test sequences for Java-based concurrent systems

Starting with a UML specification that captures the underlying functionality of some given Java-based concurrent system, we describe a systematic way to construct, from this specification, test sequences for validating an implementation of the system. The approach is to first extend the specification to create UML state machines that directly address those aspects of the system we wish to test. To be specific, the extended UML state machines can capture state information about the number of waiting threads or the number of threads blocked on a given object. Using the SAL model checker we can generate from the extended UML state machines sequences that cover all the various possibilities of events and states. These sequences can then be directly transformed into test sequences suitable for input into a testing tool such as ConAn. As an illustration, the methodology is applied to generate sequences for testing a Java implementation of the producer-consumer system. © 2005 IEEE

Learning to play Pac-Man: An evolutionary, rule-based approach

Pac-Man is a well-known, real-time computer game that provides an interesting platform for research. We describe an initial approach to developing an artificial agent that replaces the human to play a simplified version of Pac-Man. The agent is specified as a simple finite state machine and ruleset. with parameters that control the probability of movement by the agent given the constraints of the maze at some instant of time. In contrast to previous approaches, the agent represents a dynamic strategy for playing Pac-Man, rather than a pre-programmed maze-solving method. The agent adaptively "learns" through the application of population-based incremental learning (PBIL) to adjust the agents' parameters. Experimental results are presented that give insight into some of the complexities of the game, as well as highlighting the limitations and difficulties of the representation of the agent.

Integrated approach to healthcare quality management:a case study

Purpose - The purpose of the paper is to develop an integrated quality management model, which identifies problems, suggests solutions, develops a framework for implementation and helps evaluate performance of health care services dynamically. Design/methodology/approach - This paper uses logical framework analysis (LFA), a matrix approach to project planning for managing quality. This has been applied to three acute healthcare services (Operating room utilization, Accident and emergency, and Intensive care) in order to demonstrate its effectiveness. Findings - The paper finds that LFA is an effective method of quality management of hospital-based healthcare services. Research limitations/implications - This paper shows LFA application in three service processes in one hospital. However, ideally this is required to be tested in several hospitals and other services as well. Practical implications - In the paper the proposed model can be practised in hospital-based healthcare services for improving performance. Originality/value - The paper shows that quality improvement in healthcare services is a complex and multi-dimensional task. Although various quality management tools are routinely deployed for identifying quality issues in health care delivery and corrective measures are taken for superior performance, there is an absence of an integrated approach, which can identify and analyze issues, provide solutions to resolve those issues, develop a project management framework (planning, monitoring, and evaluating) to implement those solutions in order to improve process performance. This study introduces an integrated and uniform quality management tool. It integrates operations with organizational strategies. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Selling, resistance and reconciliation:a critical discursive approach to subsidiary role evolution in MNEs

Studies of political dynamics between multinational enterprise (MNE) parents and subsidiaries during subsidiary role evolution have focused largely on control and resistance. This paper adopts a critical discursive approach to enable an exploration of subtle dynamics in the way that both headquarters and subsidiaries subjectively reconstruct their independent-interdependent relationships with each other during change. We draw from a real-time qualitative study of a revealing case of charter change in an important European subsidiary of an MNE attempting to build closer integration across European country operations. Our results illustrate the role of three discourses – selling, resistance and reconciliation – in the reconstruction of the subsidiary–parent relationship. From this analysis we develop a process framework that elucidates the important role of these three discourses in the reconstruction of subsidiary roles, showing how resistance is not simply subversive but an important part of integration. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the micro-level political dynamics in subsidiary role evolution, and of how voice is exercised in MNEs. This study also provides a rare example of discourse-based analysis in an MNE context, advancing our knowledge of how discursive methods can help to advance international business research more generally.

A semantic modelling approach to knowledge based statistical software

The topic of this thesis is the development of knowledge based statistical software. The shortcomings of conventional statistical packages are discussed to illustrate the need to develop software which is able to exhibit a greater degree of statistical expertise, thereby reducing the misuse of statistical methods by those not well versed in the art of statistical analysis. Some of the issues involved in the development of knowledge based software are presented and a review is given of some of the systems that have been developed so far. The majority of these have moved away from conventional architectures by adopting what can be termed an expert systems approach. The thesis then proposes an approach which is based upon the concept of semantic modelling. By representing some of the semantic meaning of data, it is conceived that a system could examine a request to apply a statistical technique and check if the use of the chosen technique was semantically sound, i.e. will the results obtained be meaningful. Current systems, in contrast, can only perform what can be considered as syntactic checks. The prototype system that has been implemented to explore the feasibility of such an approach is presented, the system has been designed as an enhanced variant of a conventional style statistical package. This involved developing a semantic data model to represent some of the statistically relevant knowledge about data and identifying sets of requirements that should be met for the application of the statistical techniques to be valid. Those areas of statistics covered in the prototype are measures of association and tests of location.

Evaluating and developing project-based learning:an empirical approach to evaluating CDIO

As a global profession, engineering is integral to the maintenance and further development of society. Indeed, contemporary social problems requiring engineering solutions are not only a consequence of natural and ‘manmade’ disasters (such as the Japanese earthquake or the oil leakage in the Gulf of Mexico) but also encapsulate 21st Century dilemmas around sustainability, poverty and pollution [2,6,7]. Given the complexity of such problems and the constant need for innovation, the demand for engineering education to provide a ready supply of suitably qualified engineering graduates, able to make innovative decisions has never been higher [3,5]. Bearing this in mind, and taking account problems of attrition in engineering education [1,6,4] innovation in the way in which the curriculum is developed and delivered is crucial. CDIO [Conceive, Design, Implement, Operate] provides a potentially ground-breaking solution to such dilemmas. Aimed at equipping students with practical engineering skills supported by the necessary theoretical background, CDIO could potentially change the way engineering is perceived and experienced within higher education. Aston University introduced CDIO into its Mechanical Engineering and Design programmes in October 2011. From its induction, engineering education researchers have ‘shadowed’ the staff responsible for developing and teaching the programme. Utilising an Action Research Design, and adopting a mixed methodological research design, the researchers have worked closely with the teaching team to critically reflect on the processes involved in introducing CDIO into the curriculum. Concurrently, research has been conducted to capture students’ perspectives of CDIO. In evaluating the introduction of CDIO at Aston, the researchers have developed a distinctive research strategy with which to evaluate CDIO. It is the emergent findings from this research that form the basis of this paper. Although early-on in its development CDIO is making a significant difference to engineering education at the University. The paper draws attention to pedagogical, practical and professional issues – discussing each one in turn and in doing so critically analysing the value of CDIO from academic, student and industrial perspectives. The paper concludes by noting that whilst CDIO represents a forwardthinking approach to engineering education, the need for constant innovation in learning and teaching should not be forgotten. Indeed, engineering education needs to put itself at the forefront of pedagogic practice. Providing all-rounded engineers, ready to take on the challenges of the 21st Century!