Thesis (DTech. in Business Information Systems)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2008. / Existing literature propagates a variety of methods for assessment of intellectual capital. Unfortunately, awareness of, and interest in the assessment of intellectual capital far exceeds its use in practice. This research argues that, due to complexities involved in selecting and customising an appropriate method or combination of methods for assessing intellectual capital, mechanisms are needed for managing and applying the evolving body of knowledge concerning such assessment. This research proceeds to develop a model, referred to as a conceptual design for a system to (i) provide management support to the process of selecting and customising an appropriate method (or combination of methods) for assessment of intellectual capital, (ii) utilise past knowledge and expertise to accelerate and improve decision-making, (iii) promote synergism through integration of methods, and (iv) manage the evolving body of knowledge concerning the assessment of intellectual capital.

published_or_final_version / Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

This thesis presents the development of a prototype of the Baseline Oriented Modeling (BOM) approach, called protoBOM. BOM is a framework that semi-automatically generates Decision Support Systems in a specific domain, based on Software Product Lines. protoBOM semi-automatically generates applications as PRISMA architectural models by using Model-Driven Architecture and Software Product Line techniques. These models are automatically compiled and the object code (C#, in .NET) is generated obtaining an executable application. In protoBOM, the user constructs Decision Support Systems in a simpler way by using the ontologies of the diagnosis and the application domains by means of Domain Specific Languages. The interfaces will be closer to the problem domain, which will facilitate user interaction in a manner simple and intuitive.

In emergency medical transport, “time to definite care” is very important. Emergency medical services and transport medicine agencies have several possible vehicle options for interfacility transfers. Use of a land vehicle, helicopter, or fixed wing aircraft will be dependent on patient condition, distance between sending and receiving hospitals, crew configuration and capabilities, and other factors such as weather and road conditions. This thesis lays out the complex process of patient transfers and highlights the challenges in decision making under time pressure; it then describes the behaviour of human operators in estimating time to definite care. To support the operators in choosing a transportation mode, a decision support tool was built, which provides relevant time estimates for interfacility transfers based on historical dispatch and call data. The goal is to enable operators to make evidence-based decisions on vehicle allocation. A prototype interface was generated and was evaluated through a usability study.

JS McMillan Fisheries Ltd. (JSM) is a Vancouver-based company with operations in nearly all levels of the commercial fishing industry, from supply through distribution. The heart of the operation is the processing facilities where freshly caught Pacific salmon are prepared for sale to end consumers and institutional buyers. As the operations of JSM evolved, the decision making for allocating a catch of salmon with varying characteristics amongst a set of final products has become too complex and time consuming. The focus of this study is to determine an effective and efficient method for JSM to allocate daily a fresh salmon harvest between the various products they produce on a daily basis. The goal is short-term production planning, to allocate the catch among the products in such a manner that the profit potential of the catch is maximized, i.e. prepare a production schedule that maximizes the total profit over the planning horizon. Additional goals of this project include: automation of the decision making process for the catch allocation, "what if" planning, decreasing expert dependency, reducing decision making time, and building a practical and innovative decision support tool. In order to solve this problem efficiently and effectively, optimization models were developed for allocating the catch to the end products. A corresponding decision support tool was built for the end-users at JSM.

In emergency medical transport, “time to definite care” is very important. Emergency medical services and transport medicine agencies have several possible vehicle options for interfacility transfers. Use of a land vehicle, helicopter, or fixed wing aircraft will be dependent on patient condition, distance between sending and receiving hospitals, crew configuration and capabilities, and other factors such as weather and road conditions. This thesis lays out the complex process of patient transfers and highlights the challenges in decision making under time pressure; it then describes the behaviour of human operators in estimating time to definite care. To support the operators in choosing a transportation mode, a decision support tool was built, which provides relevant time estimates for interfacility transfers based on historical dispatch and call data. The goal is to enable operators to make evidence-based decisions on vehicle allocation. A prototype interface was generated and was evaluated through a usability study.

No description available.

No description available.

The 'Arco Seco' or 'Dry Arc' region of the Republic of Panama is considered to be the driest in the country, where many areas of this region experience severe water stress during the months of January through May. This study was conducted to develop a tool for the assessment of sustainable implementation of water harvesting through ponds for agricultural purposes in the region. A computer based Decision Support System (DSS) has been developed specifically for the Arco Seco region in order to facilitate pond storage capacity estimation. As part of the DSS, four computer programs have been designed for four different case scenarios; the first one is for sites that have high water demand and no topographical restrictions for pond size; the second is for fairly high water demand, no topographical restrictions for pond size, and for farmers who wish to have a backup of water to use mostly during drier years; the third is for low water demand, usage during the dry season only, and topographical restrictions for pond size, and finally the fourth is for constant water demand throughout the year, and for sites where runoff is the only water source.* / *This dissertation is a compound document (contains both a paper copy and a CD as part of the dissertation).