Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2022, Psychology-Industrial/Organizational

This dissertation studies the emergence of Transactive Memory Systems (TMS), specifically the shared knowledge structure component of TMS. To this end, the first part of the project provides in-depth discussions around the theoretical and methodological integration of the TMS and broader teams literatures, the alignment of theoretical and empirical TMS definitions, and the need to study communication in depth as the mechanism through which TMS develops. In the second part of the dissertation, the principles of these discussions were applied to build a computational model of TMS shared knowledge structure emergence in R. Each simulation ran for 100 iterations to study whether communication between agents regarding their areas of expertise resulted in the emergence of the TMS shared knowledge structure. Decision-making and deep learning theories were drawn on to predict that when agents did not have overlap in areas of expertise (had some overlap in areas of expertise), selecting to communicate with the team member thought most likely to be an expert in an information area led to more favorable (less favorable) outcomes than selecting which team member to communicate with randomly. The simulation was repeated for seven learning rates representing how readily agents changed their perceptions about their team members. Results indicated that query and response regarding expertise areas of agents consistently led to the emergence of a TMS shared knowledge structure across conditions. In most instances the pattern of emergence was marked by an initial period of rapid emergence followed by a decrease in the emergence rate. The results supported the hypotheses that when there is no expertise overlap, selecting maximally would lead to a more emerged shared knowledge structure than searching randomly, while the opposite would be the found when there was some expertise overlap. The latter finding challenges the assumption present in the TMS literature that searching for inf (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Joelle Elicker (Advisor); Andrea Snell (Committee Co-Chair); Matthew Juravich (Committee Member); James Diefendorff (Committee Member); Paul Levy (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, Civil Engineering

International construction projects carried out by foreign construction organizations may be subject to various risks due to the nature of the construction industry and business environment of the host country. The regulations of Kuwait oblige foreign organizations to create joint venture relations with qualified local partners to conduct business in Kuwait. A joint venture is a business strategy used to reduce expected risks when expanding into an international market; however, new sources of risk are created via this strategy. This research produced a risk management model for international construction in Kuwait (RIMMICK) designed to facilitate the success of international public construction projects in Kuwait. The aim of this research was to support various governmental agencies such that their projects can be successfully completed. The goal of this work was to reveal and assess the most critical risk factors that can influence the success of international construction projects in Kuwait. RIMMICK is a risk management model designed to identify the risk associated with international construction joint venture (ICJV) projects, assess the identified risk factors and provide project-specific risk ratings, reveal the consequences of the assessed risks, and suggest adequate risk mitigation and response strategies. This model focuses on the most critical phases of a construction project's lifecycle: the bidding and construction phases. RIMMICK can help sustain a risk-controlled environment by continuously monitoring a project's progress and providing reliable risk assessment. The risk intelligent system for construction in Kuwait (RISCK) is a tool designed to facilitate risk evaluation and control processes in RIMMICK. This knowledge-based system was tailored to ICJV projects in Kuwait that are owned by Kuwaiti governmental agencies. The RISCK tool can be utilized during two critical phases of a construction project: bidding and construction. During the bidding ph (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Fabian Hadipriono Tan (Advisor); Frank Croft (Committee Member); Rachel Kajfez (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2002, Engineering : Computer Science

Today, more than ever, organizations have to work harder to keep up with the pace of changes and increased global competition in the Internet-based environment, the e-business world. To succeed in multi-channel, high speed information processing environment, organizations need to leverage the knowledge they have at their disposal; they need to harness the knowledge inherent at both the individual and the corporate level; they also need to operate their business in real-time, making adjustments to changes in market conditions. In this thesis we demonstrate how knowledge management can and should contribute to leading and managing e-business-driven changes in business and operating processes, and indicate the rudiments of action agenda that decision makers will deploy to build a knowledge-management-based approach to transform their business processes. One accomplishment of the thesis is to build up a generic knowledge management framework PEDS, the Online Performance Evaluation and Decision Support System, and demonstrate it, from the system architecture and development process to business modeling. We also show that PEDS can be applied to a variety of business contexts and has a great potentiality as an enhancer to the e-business world.

Committee: Dr. Chia-Yung Han (Advisor) Subjects: Computer Science

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2012, Civil Engineering

As society moves into the future, environmental concerns such as global warming increase due to human activity (U.S. EPA 2009:2). In construction, the use of cement in concrete contributes to this problem. Scientists and Engineers believe building green, yet durable, is the key to solving this problem. To achieve this goal, researchers must move backward in time to examine how our predecessors built their structures without modern technology, and then they can incorporate the techniques that were used to reduce waste. One of the most qualified structures to examine is the Great Wall of China. The technology they used was not only environmentally friendly, but the structure is also very durable. Some parts of the structure that were built over two thousand years ago still exist today. The research is focused on Ming and Pre Ming dynasty. The research centers on the similarities and differences between the two time periods in construction techniques. Since the Great Wall is very long in length, this research and the research methods mentioned below are limited to Beijing, Hebei and Gansu province. The author found out that the main construction method that was used was rammed earth. The rammed earth method is a technique of building walls by compressing the raw materials such as earth, gravel and lime into the shape of a wall. The construction materials that they used to construct the Great Wall were mainly fire kiln bricks and mud bricks. Fire kiln bricks are made through chemical change when the clay is fired up in the kilns until it is vitrified. Mud bricks, on the other hand, are made through a physical change by letting the bricks dry out in the sun. The main transportation of the material to construct the Great Wall was using a class 2 lever wheelbarrow, though the workers used animals as well. Since the Great Wall was built a long time ago, many historical records and documents were lost or destroyed. The methods listed above are not binary, meaning they (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Fabian Tan (Advisor); Frank Croft (Committee Member); Shive Chaturvedi (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2010, Computer Science and Engineering

Cable networks demand a high level of reliability as critical services are carried over them. Maintenance operations will be greatly facilitated if faults can be geographically located on the network topology. We demonstrate the application of knowledge-based techniques and a novel ontology based software framework for topology discovery and geo-localization by integrating topology data with data from GIS based systems, where these databases have incomplete, obsolete or inaccurate information. In addition to addressing this specific problem this framework may be generalized for integration of data from multiple sources with syntactic heterogeneity.

Committee: Dr. Rajiv Ramnath (Advisor); Dr. Ola Ahlqvist (Committee Member); Dr. Jay Ramanathan (Committee Member) Subjects: Computer Science

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2002, Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering (Engineering)

An application of extensible markup language for integration of knowledge-based system with java applications

Committee: Dušan Šormaz (Advisor) Subjects: Engineering, Mechanical

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 1989, Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering (Engineering)

A knowledge-based system for the design of round broaches

Committee: Robert Terry (Advisor) Subjects: Engineering, Industrial

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2001, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (Engineering and Technology)

A knowledge-based technology advising system for web-based application development

Committee: Constantinos Vassiliadis (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 1992, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (Engineering and Technology)

The objective of this work is the development of an Expert System for the selection of the turbines for any hydroelectric power plant. The selection is based upon the calculation of different variables referred to as head, flow, speed, and load. Using essential data of a certain project, the system will produce the mathematical results and suggest the best choice of turbine for it. It was important to present in this work material found in the literature, because hydroelectric turbine data is difficult to find. Its accumulation in one document will be a great benefit for the user and is thus an additional contribution of this thesis. The turbine theory also is an indispensable part of the expert-system code because it became the knowledge base to support the inference engine. The system was developed to be simple and user friendly, requiring no programming skills on the user's part. The utilization of this expert system as a decision tool in the selection process of a turbine enables future modifications of the program to be made easily. It also permits changes and adaptations according to the needs of the power plant. In addition the system will provide, upon request, a short justification for the decision reached. The turbine for a hydroelectric power plant should be selected and designed to suit the specific range of conditions under which the plant is going to operate. Careful studies of streamflow and reservoir operation and accurate field data are necessary for an economical selection to be made. Using an object-oriented knowledge base all the information about certain turbine use is written in a form of production rules. The data available will trigger the rules that match the category of such turbine. Graphics and field data were collected from different sources. All field data were graphically analyzed and the frequency of each turbine in each range was defined. These data were used to write the rules that make the knowledge base complex and realistic. The (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: C. Vassiliadis (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2013, Geography (Arts and Sciences)

Sacred forests are the product of intersecting ecology, culture, and society. In some of the most densely settled elevations of Tanzania's North Pare Mountains, sacred forests preserve all that remains of native forest vegetation. Their continued protection appears uncertain however, as acculturation has led some caretakers to abandon traditional stewardship. The people of Mangio and Vuchama, two North Pare highland villages, are still maintaining sacred forests. This research examines the conservation value and potential fate of those forests. During summer 2012 selected forests were inventoried to determine forest structure and composition and qualitative research activities investigated age-stratified patterns of the knowledge, beliefs, and practices associated with forests. Sacred forests were found to have greater density and species richness than the village forest. Changing customs have influenced these communities and consequently the landscape, yet the recognized ecological value of sacred forests secures their continued local protection, reinforced by formal government.

Committee: Elizabeth Edna Wangui PhD (Advisor); Thomas Smucker PhD (Committee Member); James M. Dyer PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Management; Epistemology; Forestry