A generic object-oriented simulation platform is developed in order to conduct experiments on the performance of assignment schemes. The simulation platform, called Genesis, is generic in the sense that it can model the key parameters that describe a parallel system: the architecture, the program, the assignment scheme and the message routing strategy. Genesis uses as its basis a sound architectural representation scheme developed in the thesis. The thesis reports results from a number of experiments assessing the performance of assignment schemes using Genesis. The comparison results indicate that the new assignment scheme proposed in this thesis is a promising alternative to the work-greedy assignment schemes. The proposed scheme has a time-complexity less than those of the work-greedy schemes and achieves an average performance better than, or comparable to, those of the work-greedy schemes. To generate an assignment, some parameters describing the program model will be required. In many cases, accurate estimation of these parameters is hard. It is thought that inaccuracies in the estimation would lead to poor assignments. The thesis investigates this speculation and presents experimental evidence that shows such inaccuracies do not greatly affect the quality of the assignments.

Increasingly, highway transportation projects are tending to involve maintenance and rehabilitation work. The age and the condition of the transportation asset, in addition to funding constraints have been the key drivers of this trend. This implies that construction operations take place in the presence of traffic flows, leading to the creation of construction work zones. This has safety implications for the commuters and construction workers alike. In addition, construction operations also hamper mobility through the work zone. Effective management of the work zone is thus very important from the perspective of construction and mobility. The preferred and mandated method to manage the impacts of the work zone is the Transportation Management Plan, which prescribes a set of coordinated strategies for the same. The strategies used in a TMP range from enforcing lane closures to modifying the construction sequencing. As the choice of particular strategies or a combination of those affects the work zone, assessing TMP strategies is important to inform future decisions. This thesis proposes a framework for the qualitative assessment of TMP strategies and TMP processes using cognitive task analysis methods. The application of the proposed method is demonstrated through two case studies of large highway reconstruction projects, involving significant bridge reconstruction. The knowledge elicitation techniques are discussed and the obtained knowledge is represented using different knowledge representation structures. The benefits and the applicability of CTA methods are explored through the case studies of projects using different contracting strategies. Finally, recommendations are made for the design of decision support tools, based on the insights obtained through the analysis. / text

Increasingly, highway transportation projects are tending to involve maintenance and rehabilitation work. The age and the condition of the transportation asset, in addition to funding constraints have been the key drivers of this trend. This implies that construction operations take place in the presence of traffic flows, leading to the creation of construction work zones. This has safety implications for the commuters and construction workers alike. In addition, construction operations also hamper mobility through the work zone. Effective management of the work zone is thus very important from the perspective of construction and mobility. The preferred and mandated method to manage the impacts of the work zone is the Transportation Management Plan, which prescribes a set of coordinated strategies for the same. The strategies used in a TMP range from enforcing lane closures to modifying the construction sequencing. As the choice of particular strategies or a combination of those affects the work zone, assessing TMP strategies is important to inform future decisions. This thesis proposes a framework for the qualitative assessment of TMP strategies and TMP processes using cognitive task analysis methods. The application of the proposed method is demonstrated through two case studies of large highway reconstruction projects, involving significant bridge reconstruction. The knowledge elicitation techniques are discussed and the obtained knowledge is represented using different knowledge representation structures. The benefits and the applicability of CTA methods are explored through the case studies of projects using different contracting strategies. Finally, recommendations are made for the design of decision support tools, based on the insights obtained through the analysis. / text

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1990. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 67-73). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis, PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2006. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 133-143). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR29628

No description available.

Despite the widespread adoption of task-based language teaching in English as a foreign/second language (EF/SL), task difficulty has continued to be a controversial issue in task-based assessment. This research explores how feasible it is to implement a task-based approach to testing within the existing Chinese National English Curriculum (CNEC). The central problem that the study has addressed is how task difficulty can be established through the use of a theoretically-motivated analytic scheme, grounded in contemporary task research. The scheme needs to be able to take a test-task as input, and facilitate rating of the test task on a number of dimensions. / Initially, the scheme proposed by Norris Brown, Hudson, and Yoshioka (1998) was explored for validity and practicality in the Chinese context. Since this scheme did not work very effectively, a new analytic scheme for curriculum-based test-tasks was developed through a series of developmental cycles. At the end of this process, an Input-Processing-Output (IPO) task difficulty matrix was established which provided reliable estimates of rated test-task difficulty at both global and analytic levels. The IPO task difficulty matrix designed and used in the series of studies appears to have adequately distinguished between three levels of difficulty of a CNEC theme. / The research establishes (1) that the difficulty of the tasks can be used to sequence effectively both for testing and for teaching; (2) the methods by which the principles of task selection and task difficulty can be used with a wider range of test generators and test users, and (3) that rated task difficulty connects with objective measures of performance as well as conventional ratings of performance. / The scheme provides a practical tool, but also a theoretical perspective on how tasks themselves can be analyzed effectively. The main developmental cycles required experienced and trained ELT professionals to use the analytic rating scheme. A later phase employed less experienced and trained teachers and explored how they could be trained to use the rating scheme. This phase established that the scheme can be used in "non-expert" English language teaching (ELT) situations, provided that there is adequate training. Validity was explored through the use of a range of discourse analysis measures of the writing performance of a number of school-based EFL learners in China. / Luo, Shaoqian. / "October 2007." / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-08, Section: A, page: 3132. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 339-367). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

It has been proposed that backward inhibition (BI) is a mechanism which facilitates task-switching by suppressing the previous task. One view is that BI is generated in response to conflict between tasks being experienced during task-performance. Across twelve experiments, this thesis investigated this proposition by addressing two questions: What affects the size/presence of BI? and When is BI triggered?: What affects the size/presence of BI? and When is BI triggered? The findings from Chapter 2 suggest that BI is increased when conflict stemming from shared target features is present, and that the expectation, as well as experience, of conflict might increase BI. Chapter 3 suggests that BI is increased when target features are shared (and that no BI is present otherwise), but contrary to previous findings, BI is not increased when response features are shared. Chapter 4 provided indirect support for the view that BI can be present without between-task conflict (i.e., neither shared targets nor responses), and indicated that in such a context BI (at least at item-level) requires trial-by-trial cuing. Chapter 5 indicates that BI is triggered prior to response execution and after the preparation stage of task processing, therefore indicating that either the target processing stage or the response selection stage of task processing are responsible for triggering BI. Together, the results of the experiments in this thesis indicate that BI can be driven by conflict stemming from target sharing. However, there was no evidence that conflict stemming from response sharing drives BI. In addition, the data suggested that BI might be generated by the expectation of conflict and by task preparation. Therefore, BI might be applied in response to conflict at any stage of task processing and the decision to apply BI might be decided in advance of such conflict.