The decision to select the best Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) technologies from available options has always been a challenging task. The availability of connected vehicle/automated vehicle (CV/AV) technologies in the near future is expected to add to the complexity of the ITS investment decision-making process. The goal of this research is to develop a multi-criteria decision-making analysis (MCDA) framework to support traffic agencies’ decision-making process with consideration of CV/AV technologies. The decision to select between technology alternatives is based on identified performance measures and criteria, and constraints associated with each technology. Methods inspired by the literature were developed for incident/bottleneck detection and back-of-queue (BOQ) estimation and warning based on connected vehicle (CV) technologies. The mobility benefits of incident/bottleneck detection with different technologies were assessed using microscopic simulation. The performance of technology alternatives was assessed using simulated CV and traffic detector data in a microscopic simulation environment to be used in the proposed MCDA method for the purpose of alternative selection. In addition to assessing performance measures, there are a number of constraints and risks that need to be assessed in the alternative selection process. Traditional alternative analyses based on deterministic return on investment analysis are unable to capture the risks and uncertainties associated with the investment problem. This research utilizes a combination of a stochastic return on investment and a multi-criteria decision analysis method referred to as the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to select between ITS deployment alternatives considering emerging technologies. The approach is applied to an ITS investment case study to support freeway bottleneck management. The results of this dissertation indicate that utilizing CV data for freeway segments is significantly more cost-effective than using point detectors in detecting incidents and providing travel time estimates one year after CV technology becomes mandatory for all new vehicles and for corridors with moderate to heavy traffic. However, for corridors with light, there is a probability of CV deployment not being effective in the first few years due to low measurement reliability of travel times and high latency of incident detection, associated with smaller sample sizes of the collected data.

<p>In this thesis the genetic variation of two grouse species, the Chinese grouse (<i>Bonasa sewersowi</i>) and the Black grouse (<i>Tetrao tetrix</i>) was examined with neutral genetic markers: microsatellites. Habitat fragmentation and isolation leads to structuring among and loss of genetic variation within populations.</p><p>The Chinese grouse in a small population in Lianhuasan nature reserve was found to have undergone a population bottleneck and as a result of isolation and possible inbreeding showed genetic impoverishment hereof.</p><p>The Black grouse populations in Europe face various different conditions from widely distributed areas of suitable habitat in the northern and eastern parts of its range to highly naturally and anthropogenically fragmented habitat landscapes in the west.</p><p>Structure among populations was found in Great Britain where Wales, Scotland and England showed characteristics of three different genetic entities, indicating very little or no geneflow between these populations. </p><p>The Dutch population showed signs of loss of genetic variation as to be expected from a population that has historically decreased in population size from several thousands to tens of individuals in a matter of decades. However the possibility to spot signs of a bottleneck was impaired due to the short time-window in which this can be observed in a population with such a low effective population size (N_E).</p><p>The sampled populations in Europe clustered into five different groups of genetic identities. The different clusters were: Great Britain-, the Netherlands-, Fenno-Scandian-, Alpine- and lowland German-Austrian populations. The level of genetic variation when compared over all these different populations decreased as a sign of isolation and small N_E. However it was not feasible to separate the impact of these two factors.</p>

Trying to do two things at once decreases performance of one or both tasks in many cases compared to the situation when one performs each task by itself. The present thesis deals with the question why and in which cases these dual-task costs emerge and moreover, whether there are cases in which people are able to process two cognitive tasks at the same time without costs. In four experiments the influence of stimulus-response (S-R) compatibility, S-R modality pairings, interindividual differences, and practice on parallel processing ability of two tasks are examined. Results show that parallel processing is possible. Nevertheless, dual-task costs emerge when: the personal processing strategy is serial, the two tasks have not been practiced together, S-R compatibility of both tasks is low (e.g. when a left target has to be responded with a right key press and in the other task an auditorily presented “A” has to be responded by saying “B”), and modality pairings of both tasks are Non Standard (i.e., visual-spatial stimuli are responded vocally whereas auditory-verbal stimuli are responded manually). Results are explained with respect to executive-based (S-R compatibility) and content-based crosstalk (S-R modality pairings) between tasks. Finally, an alternative information processing account with respect to the central stage of response selection (i.e., the translation of the stimulus to the response) is presented. / Versucht man zwei Aufgaben zur gleichen Zeit zu erledigen, so verschlechtert sich die Leistung einer oder beider Aufgabe(n) im Vergleich zur Situation, in der man beide Aufgaben einzeln erledigt. Die vorliegende Dissertation beschäftigt sich mit der Frage, warum und unter welchen Umständen diese Doppelaufgabenkosten entstehen. Darüber hinaus geht sie der Frage nach, ob es Aufgabenkombinationen gibt, für die parallele Verarbeitung ohne Kosten gezeigt werden kann. In vier Experimenten wurde der Einfluss von Stimulus-Reaktion (S-R) Kompatibilität, S-R Modalitätspaarungen, interindividueller Unterschiede und Training auf das Parallelverarbeitungspotential zweier Aufgaben untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass parallele Verarbeitung generell möglich ist. Dennoch entstehen Doppelaufgabenkosten, wenn die persönliche Verarbeitungsstrategie seriell ist, die beiden Aufgaben nicht genügend zusammen trainiert wurden, die S-R Kompatibilität beider Aufgaben gering ist (z.B. wenn ein linker Zielreiz mit einem Druck auf die rechten Taste beantwortet und in der anderen Aufgabe ein auditiv präsentiertes „A“ mit der Aussprache eines „Bs“ beantwortet werden muss) und die Modalitätspaarungen beider Aufgaben Nicht-Standard sind (d.h. visuell-räumliche Stimuli mit vokalen und auditiv-verbale Stimuli mit manuellen Reaktionen beantwortet werden müssen). Die gewonnenen Ergebnisse werden durch „Crosstalk“ der exekutiven Signale (S-R Kompatibilität) und durch inhaltsbasierten „Crosstalk“ (S-R Modalitätspaarungen) erklärt. Weiterhin wird ein alternatives Modell der Informationsverarbeitung mit Hinblick auf die zentrale Phase der Antwortauswahl (d.h. die Phase in der die Stimulusinformation in eine Antwort übersetzt wird) vorgestellt.

In this thesis the genetic variation of two grouse species, the Chinese grouse (Bonasa sewersowi) and the Black grouse (Tetrao tetrix) was examined with neutral genetic markers: microsatellites. Habitat fragmentation and isolation leads to structuring among and loss of genetic variation within populations. The Chinese grouse in a small population in Lianhuasan nature reserve was found to have undergone a population bottleneck and as a result of isolation and possible inbreeding showed genetic impoverishment hereof. The Black grouse populations in Europe face various different conditions from widely distributed areas of suitable habitat in the northern and eastern parts of its range to highly naturally and anthropogenically fragmented habitat landscapes in the west. Structure among populations was found in Great Britain where Wales, Scotland and England showed characteristics of three different genetic entities, indicating very little or no geneflow between these populations. The Dutch population showed signs of loss of genetic variation as to be expected from a population that has historically decreased in population size from several thousands to tens of individuals in a matter of decades. However the possibility to spot signs of a bottleneck was impaired due to the short time-window in which this can be observed in a population with such a low effective population size (NE). The sampled populations in Europe clustered into five different groups of genetic identities. The different clusters were: Great Britain-, the Netherlands-, Fenno-Scandian-, Alpine- and lowland German-Austrian populations. The level of genetic variation when compared over all these different populations decreased as a sign of isolation and small NE. However it was not feasible to separate the impact of these two factors.

Uncovering and understanding the processes that have led to the biological diversity we observe today are of fundamental interest in biology. Since direct observation of speciation is usually impossible, knowledge about the processes behind species formation can be gathered by studying mutations, natural/sexual selection, and genetic drift. In this thesis I aim to identify evolutionary processes that cause species divergence and, ultimately, speciation using Swedish cyprinid fish as a model system. Assuming that the demographic history of a population is mirrored in the genome, I studied the effects of a bottleneck on genetic variability in populations of roach. As expected, I found that a decrease in population size caused a decrease in genetic variability, a pattern that was obtained from both microsatellite and mitochondrial data. The importance of hybridization for speciation is debated, however, by analyzing morphology and microsatellites I could show that common bream and white bream and their interspecific hybrids are phenotypically and genetically differentiated and that ongoing geneflow is mainly unidirectional. Ongoing geneflow antagonizes the effect of genetic drift, but by studying isolated populations (= no gene flow) the impact of genetic drift can be assessed. Long-term isolated populations of roach and perch surprisingly showed stable levels of genetic diversity over time despite decreasing effective population size. However, each population genetically diverged during the period of investigation, a finding that is consistent with the effect of drift. An analysis of the systematic relationship of the 18 species of Swedish cyprinids revealed low congruence of phylogenies based on two different genetic markers. The position of the tench remains unresolved and the relationship of common bream and white bream as sister species cannot be confirmed. Within cyprinid fishes, diversification rates reveal a slowdown with time, a pattern that I found also in other fish clades and that is consistent with density-dependent cladogenesis. Overall, based on the findings presented in this thesis I emphasize that the maintenance of genetic variation in populations is essential since genetic variation is the key element for processes of divergence to act upon.

Reintroduction of Anatolian mouflon population at Bozdag Protection &amp / Breeding Station to its former habitats(Emremsultan Wildlife Development Area in Ankara-Nallihan, and Karadag in Karaman) started in 2004. The magnitude of genetic change among Bozdag and reintroduced populations was evaluated by 11 microsatellite loci. Study populations revealed close results (&plusmn / st.dev.) &ndash / Bozdag population: nk = 2.9091 (&plusmn / 1.1362), AE = 2.0250 (&plusmn / 0.9537), Ho = 0.3830 (&plusmn / 0.2717), He = 0.3956 (&plusmn / 0.2746) / Nallihan population: nk = 2.9091 (&plusmn / 1.1362), AE = 2.0592 (&plusmn / 0.9451), Ho = 0.4086 (&plusmn / 0.2977), He = 0.4052 (&plusmn / 0.2767) / and Karadag population: nk = 2.5455 (&plusmn / 1.1282), AE = 1.8809 (&plusmn / 0.8758), Ho = 0.3388 (&plusmn / 0.2775), He = 0.3607 (&plusmn / 0.2716). Population differences for major genetic parameters were not significant (p &gt / 0.05) by comparisons with paired t-test. Also, temporal change in genetic diversity for Bozdag population was investigated by comparison with temporal data. Temporal changes in genetic parameters were found to be not significant and possible causes for differences were argued. Additionally, genetic diversity and PI computations for different traps were verified and compared to uncover any potential bias due to the catching method. Comparisons did not reveal significant differences illustrating the homogeneity among traps. On the other hand, simulations detected the higher sensitivity of allelic diversity (A) to founder events than P and heterozygosity (Ho &amp / He) levels which supports heterozygosity excess method for bottleneck analysis. With the same simulation analysis, observed genetic diversity within reintroduced samples were found to be in the ranges of expectation (99% CI) indicating that translocated individuals were chosen randomly. Bottleneck analysis based on heterozygosity excess method (one-tailed test for heterozygosity excess: pSMM = 0.28515, pTPM = 0.06445, pIAM = 0.02441) and allele frequency distributions method (normal L-shaped) could not detect a recent genetic bottleneck for Bozdag population. However, simulations determined that these two methods are prone to type II error. Bottleneck detection failure for the study population is probably due to type II error instead of other sources of error like violations of model assumptions.

In this thesis, we consider the Multi Resource Agent Bottleneck Generalized Assignment Problem. We aim to minimize the maximum load over all agents. We study the Linear Programming (LP) relaxation of the problem. We use the optimal LP relaxation solutions in our Branch and Bound algorithm while defining lower and upper bounds and branching schemes. We find that our Branch and Bound algorithm returns optimal solutions to the problems with up to 60 jobs when the number of agents is 5, and up to 30 jobs when the number of agents is 10, in less than 20 minutes. To find approximate solutions, we define a tabu search algorithm and an &amp / #945 / approximation algorithm. Our computational results have revealed that these procedures can find high quality solutions to large sized instances very quickly.

In a constantly increasing and more demanding global market, companies must continuously improve and develop in order to stay competitive. A manufacturing company can have several goals in order to succeed in this, both strategically and internally within the production. Unfortunately, many goals conflict with each other due to the interrelationship between them. Decisions must be taken whether to focus on maximizing delivery precision, minimizing costs of tied-up capital, or minimizing production costs, which means that trade-offs are necessary to be made. At Gnutti Carlo Sweden in Alvesta, this is their present reality, where a completely new production line is currently being installed. This is planned to start producing in the beginning of 2016, with successively increased volumes until reaching full production in 2018. Due to process constraints, inventories must be placed within the process in order to keep these utilized to the highest extent possible. On one hand, sufficient inventory must be kept in order to prevent waiting time in the constraining work station, and on the other hand, inventories within the process should be kept as small as possible, this in order to minimize holding costs and required space. This conflict formed the purpose of the study, which was to achieve a suitable balance between minimizing waiting times in the constraining station and the level of inventories within the process, with main focus on waiting times. In order to fulfill the purpose, the problem was approached using simulation as the main methodology. In addition to simulation, the study included elements of case studies, experimental methods and action research, which were present at different stages of the project. A nine-step simulation methodology was the inspiration in how the study was conducted, which included necessary mile-stones for reaching qualitative simulation results from a real system, meaning that the approach had a high focus on validation. By creating a conceptual model, which is a reflection of the current state, a simulation model that represented the process was possible to create. By applying different aspects from existing philosophies and concepts, such as Lean production, Theory of Constraints, and other production concepts, it was possible to form a set of scenarios that corresponded to different potential approaches that were believed to fulfill the study purpose. Using the simulation model, several experiments were conducted, testing the effects from applying the different scenarios, which mainly consisted of different batching strategies to use in a non-constraining work station located prior to the inventory in the process. The results showed that using smaller batches of similar sizes in the non-constraining work station, prior to the supermarket, is significantly decreasing inventory levels, this while not negatively affecting the waiting time in the constraint. The results showed decreased inventories up to approximately 50% when testing certain scenarios, however not considering some parameters that may affect the process. Important to consider is that the excess capacity of the process is what is controlling the minimum size of the batches, thus also the inventory size needed. Recommendations included to use different batching strategies for non-constraining stations, as well as to further investigate the process before production start, as some parts of the process are excluded in the study. / I en ständigt växande och mer krävande global marknad måste företag kontinuerligt förbättras och utvecklas för att fortsatt vara konkurrenskraftiga. Ett tillverkningsföretag kan ha olika mål för att lyckas med detta, både strategiska och interna inom produktionen. Tyvärr verkar flera mål mot varandra på grund av ett inbördes förhållande. Beslut måste tas gällande att antingen fokusera på att maximera leveransprecisionen, minimera kostnaden för bundet kapital eller minimera produktionskostnaderna, vilket betyder att kompromisser måste tillämpas. På Gnutti Carlo Sweden i Alvesta är detta deras nuvarande verklighet, där en helt ny produktionslinje för närvarande installeras. Denna är planerad att börja producera i början av 2016, med succesivt ökande volymer fram tills 2018, då full produktion nås. På grund av processbegränsningar måste lager placeras i processen för att upprätthålla en högsta möjlig utnyttjandegrad för dessa. Å ena sidan måste tillräckliga lager hållas för att undvika väntetider i den begränsande arbetsstationen, å andra sidan bör lagernivåerna hållas så låga som möjligt, detta för att minimera lagerkostnader och lagerutrymme. Denna konflikt var grunden till syftet till studien, vilket var att uppnå en passande balans mellan minimering av väntetider i den begränsande arbetsstationen och lagernivåerna i processen, med huvudfokus på väntetider. För att kunna uppfylla syftet var problemet angripet med hjälp av simulering som huvudsaklig metod. Utöver simulering innehöll studien element av fallstudier, experimentella metoder och aktionsforskning, vilka var aktiva under olika faser av projektet. En nio steg lång simuleringsmetod tjänade som inspiration för hur studien genomfördes, vilken innefattade nödvändiga milstolpar för att lyckas nå kvalitativa simuleringsresultat från ett verkligt system, vilket innebar att metodiken fokuserade mycket på validering. Genom att skapa en konceptuell modell, vilket är en avspegling av nuläget, kunde en simuleringsmodell som representerade processen att skapas. Genom applicering av olika aspekter från existerande filosofier och koncept, exempelvis Lean production, Begränsningsteorin samt andra produktionskoncept, möjliggjordes bildandet av en samling scenarier som motsvarade olika, potentiella, tillvägagångssätt som ansågs kunna uppfylla studiens syfte. Genom simuleringsmodellen utfördes flera experiment, vilka testade effekterna från appliceringen av de olika scenarierna, som huvudsakligen bestod av olika strategier gällande partierna i en icke-begränsande arbetsstation, vilken är placerad innan lagret i processen. Resultatet visade att, genom applicering av mindre partistorlekar i den icke-begränsande arbetsstationen före lagret i processen, kan lagernivåerna minskas avsevärt, detta utan att negativt påverka väntetiderna i begränsningen. Resultatet visade minskade lager med upp till 50% för vissa scenarier, detta dock utan hänsyn tagen till vissa parametrar som kan påverka processen. Viktigt att beakta är att överskott av kapaciteten i processen är vad som kontrollerar minimistorleken på partierna, därför också lagerstorleken som krävs. Rekommendationerna innefattade införandet av olika strategier gällande partierna i icke-begränsande arbetsstationer samt att fortsatt undersöka processen, detta på grund av att vissa delar av processen är exkluderade i studien.

Univ., FB Wirtschaftswiss., Diss.--Hamburg, 2002.

Submitted by Alison Vanceto (alison-vanceto@hotmail.com) on 2017-01-05T11:34:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseCFB.pdf: 7265467 bytes, checksum: 30543ef140945c783d91cea9b4431c1c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2017-01-16T12:56:55Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseCFB.pdf: 7265467 bytes, checksum: 30543ef140945c783d91cea9b4431c1c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2017-01-16T12:57:02Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseCFB.pdf: 7265467 bytes, checksum: 30543ef140945c783d91cea9b4431c1c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-16T12:57:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseCFB.pdf: 7265467 bytes, checksum: 30543ef140945c783d91cea9b4431c1c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-10-14 / Outra / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / This thesis proposes to evaluate the effect of transfer batch size on lead time reduction in flow shop environments (balanced and unbalanced, with a bottleneck). In order to achieve this objective, Design Science was used as a research method, in which a static simulation model is proposed and several scenarios are analyzed and evaluated in relation to important Production Management theories. The model proposed to represent a flow shop uses the Factory Physics equations (HOPP; SPEARMAN, 2008) e considers the following shop-floor variables: i) the average setup time; ii) average defect rate; iii) mean time between failures; iv) mean time to repair the machine; v) variability in processing time; vi) variability of the time between arrivals of orders and vii) transfer batch size. The results demonstrate that for both balanced and unbalanced environment, transfer batch size has little effect on lead time, when operating with a process batch size away from optimal batch size (minimum point of the lead time - lot size curve proposed by Karmarkar et al. (1985)). To get a good lead time performance, it is first necessary to reduce process batch size before making efforts to reduce transfer batch. For an unbalanced environment, reducing process batch size only at the bottleneck, coupled to transfer batch size reduction across the flow shop, provided a lead time reduction on the order of 30%, while the remainder flow shop operated with large process batches. In such configuration, the contribution from setup time reduction at the bottleneck machine has generated a small effect on the lead time performance considering the parameters used in this work. / Esta tese se propõe a avaliar o efeito do tamanho do lote de transferência na redução do lead time em ambientes flow shop (balanceado e não balanceado, com a presença de um recurso gargalo). Para atingir tal objetivo, foi utilizado como método de pesquisa o Design Science, no qual um modelo de simulação estático é proposto e diversos cenários são analisados e avaliados em relação a grandes teorias da Gestão da Produção. O modelo aqui proposto para representar um flow shop utiliza as equações do Factory Physics (HOPP; SPEARMAN, 2008) e considera as seguintes variáveis de chão-de-fábrica: i) tempo médio de setup; ii) taxa média de defeitos; iii) tempo médio entre falhas; iv) tempo médio de reparo da máquina; v) variabilidade do tempo de processamento; vi) variabilidade do tempo entre as chegadas de ordens e vii) tamanho do lote de transferência. Os resultados demonstram que tanto para um ambiente balanceado quanto para um ambiente desbalanceado, o tamanho do lote de transferência tem pouco efeito no lead time, quando se opera com um tamanho de lote de produção longe do tamanho de lote ótimo (ponto mínimo da curva lead time – tamanho de lote de produção, proposta por Karmarkar et al. (1985)). Para se obter um bom desempenho em relação ao lead time, é preciso primeiramente reduzir o tamanho do lote de produção, antes de se empreender esforços para a redução do lote de transferência. Em relação a um ambiente desbalanceado, a redução do tamanho do lote de produção apenas no recurso gargalo, aliada à redução do tamanho do lote de transferência em toda a linha, proporcionou uma redução no lead time da ordem de 30%, quando o restante da linha operava com grandes lotes de produção. Nessa configuração, a contribuição da redução do tempo de setup da máquina gargalo gerou um efeito pequeno na redução do lead time, para os parâmetros utilizados nesse trabalho.