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This doctoral thesis represents pioneering research in integrating Smart Mobile Lockers with City Buses (SML-CBs) for e-commerce last-mile delivery, a novel concept rooted in the sharing economy. It explores the innovative use of underutilized urban bus capacities for parcel transportation while incorporating smart parcel lockers to facilitate self-pick-up by customers. Comprising six chapters, the thesis delineates its background, motivations, contributions, and organization in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 presents a comprehensive review of the recent literature on last-mile freight deliveries, including a bibliometric analysis, identifying gaps and opportunities for SML-CBs intervention. In Chapter 3, using survey data, we conduct empirical analytics to study Canadian consumers’ attitudes towards adopting SML-CBs, focusing on deterrents such as excessive walking distances to pick-up locations and incentives led by environmental concerns. This chapter also pinpoints demographic segments likely to be early adopters of this innovative delivery system. To address the concerns over walking distances identified in Chapter 3, Chapter 4 presents a prescriptive model and algorithms aimed at minimizing customer walking distance to self-pick-up points, considering the assignment of SML-CBs and customers. The case study results endorse the convenience of SML-CBs in terms of short walking distances. To systematically assess the sustainability benefits, a key motivator identified in Chapter 3, Chapter 5 includes analytical models for pricing and accessibility of SML-CBs. It also employs a hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to analyze the sustainability performance of SML-CBs. It establishes system boundaries, develops pertinent LCA parameters, and illustrates substantial greenhouse gas (GHG) savings in both operational and life cycle phases when SML-CBs are utilized instead of traditional delivery trucks. The dissertation is concluded in Chapter 6, summarizing the principal contributions and suggesting avenues for future research. This comprehensive study not only provides empirical and analytical evidence supporting the feasibility and advantages of SML-CBs but also contributes to the literature on sustainable logistics and urban freight deliveries. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This doctoral thesis represents pioneering research in integrating Smart Mobile Lockers with City Buses (SML-CBs) for e-commerce last-mile delivery. It explores the innovative use of underutilized urban bus capacities for parcel transportation while incorporating smart parcel lockers to facilitate self-pick-up by customers. Comprising six chapters, the thesis delineates its background, motivations, contributions, and organization in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 presents a comprehensive review of the recent literature on lastmile freight deliveries. In Chapter 3, we study Canadian consumers’ attitudes towards adopting SML-CBs, focusing on deterrents such as excessive walking distances to pickup locations and incentives led by environmental concerns. To address the concerns over walking distances identified in Chapter 3, Chapter 4 presents models and algorithms for operating SML-CBs. Chapter 5 presents an assessment of the sustainability of SML-CBs. The dissertation is concluded in Chapter 6, summarizing the principal contributions and suggesting avenues for future research.

Wasaline is a shipping company that has automated their check-in process for trucks carrying cargo. This increased effectiveness and provided a better experience for drivers. To make sure that the new system was as effective as possible, the user experience of the check-in automats also had to be as good as possible. Their design, usability, and performance were evaluated based on research and ISO 25022:2016 Quality-in-Use to find issues and potential improvements. This was also backed by data collected from log files during the automated check-in process that could be compared with the old manual check-in process along with a heuristic evaluation of the system. Finally, interviews were conducted with truck drivers and staff members to get their perspective. Potential solutions to these problems were presented as a prototype that illustrates how improvements could be implemented while keeping the company’s original design.

This thesis addresses the Vehicle Routing Problem with Interdiction (VRPI), an extension of the classic Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) that incorporates the risk of route interdiction due to events such as natural disasters, armed conflicts, and infrastructural failures, among others. These interdictions introduce uncertainty and complexity into logistics planning, requiring innovative approaches to the routing process. This research employs both exact methods, using the CPLEX solver, and heuristic methods, particularly using the Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure (GRASP), to solve VRPI with different instance sizes. This research’s key contributions include successfully implementing the GRASP algorithm on large-scale benchmark instances, representing a significant advancement over prior implementations that focused on smaller, randomly generated instances. A flexible framework was also developed to adapt the GRASP methodology for different VRP variants, including the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP) and Split Delivery Vehicle Routing Problem (SDVRP), with and without interdiction. A feasibility analysis for small instances was developed using CPLEX, highlighting the sensitivity of VRPI solutions to interdiction probabilities, particularly in scenarios with tight capacity constraints. The findings of this analysis are extended to large instances. Additionally, a 3-fold logic was incorporated in the GRASP implementation—focused on minimizing cost, minimizing interdiction, and minimizing demand—proved crit- ical in facing the VRPI challenges, and provided high-quality solutions with reduced computational effort. Including the minimum demand logic in GRASP was instrumen- tal during the implementation and numerical experimentation for large benchmark in- stances. The implications of this thesis are significant for operational research (OR), particularly in high-risk environments where route interdictions can occur. Future research directions include generating more diverse benchmark instances for VRPI, exploring the impact of variability in interdiction probabilities on solution quality and computational time, and applying exact methods like dynamic programming to solve large VRP instances. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

The specification of enterprise information systems using formal specification languages enables the formal verification of these systems. Reasoning about the properties of a formal specification is a tedious task that can be facilitated much through the use of an automated reasoner. However, set theory is a corner stone of many formal specification languages and poses demanding challenges to automated reasoners. To this end a number of heuristics has been developed to aid the Otter theorem prover in finding short proofs for set-theoretic problems. This dissertation investigates the applicability of these heuristics to next generation theorem provers. / Computing / M.Sc. (Computer Science)

In this thesis, I discuss how the undergraduate computer scientist is trained, and how they learn what I am calling computational intuition. Computational intuition describes the methodology in which computer scientists approach their problems and solve them through the use of computers. Computational intuition is a series of skills and a way of thinking or approaching problems that students learn throughout their education. The main way that computational intuition is taught to students is through the experience they gain as they work on homework and classwork problems. To develop computational intuition, students learn explicit knowledge and techniques as well as knowledge that is tacit and harder to teach within the lectures of a classroom environment. Computational intuition includes concepts that professors and students discuss which include “computer science intuition,” “computational thinking,” general problem solving skills or heuristics, and trained judgement. This way of learning is often social, and I draw on the pedagogy of cognitive apprenticeship to understand the interactions between the professors, tutors, and other students help learners gain an understanding of the “computer science intuition.” It is this method of thinking that computer scientists at the Claremont Colleges have stated as being one of the most essential items that should be taught and gained throughout their education and signals a wider understanding of computer science as a field.

Student Number : 0214677F - PhD thesis - School of Camputational and Applied Mathematics - Faculty of Science / Many real-life problems are formulated as global optimization problems with continuous variables. These problems are in most cases nonsmooth, nonconvex and often simulation based, making gradient based methods impossible to be used to solve them. Therefore, ef#2;cient, reliable and derivative-free global optimization methods for solving such problems are needed. In this thesis, we focus on improving the ef#2;ciency and reliability of some global optimization methods. In particular, we concentrate on improving some population set-based methods for unconstrained global optimization, mainly through hybridization. Hybridization has widely been recognized to be one of the most attractive areas of unconstrained global optimization. Experiments have shown that through hybridization, new methods that inherit the strength of the original elements but not their weakness can be formed. We suggest a number of new hybridized population set-based methods based on differential evolution (de), controlled random search (crs2) and real coded genetic algorithm (ga). We propose #2;ve new versions of de. In the #2;rst version, we introduce a localization, called random localization, in the mutation phase of de. In the second version, we propose a localization in the acceptance phase of de. In the third version, we form a de hybrid algorithm by probabilistically combining the point generation scheme of crs2 with that of de in the de algorithm. The fourth and #2;fth versions are also de hybrids. These versions hybridize the mutation of de with the point generation rule of the electromagnetism-like (em) algorithm. We also propose #2;ve new versions of crs2. The #2;rst version modi#2;es the point generation scheme of crs2 by introducing a local mutation technique. In the second and third modi#2;cations, we probabilistically combine the point generation scheme of crs2 with the linear interpolation scheme of a trust-region based method. The fourth version is a crs hybrid that probabilistically combines the quadratic interpolation scheme with the linear interpolation scheme in crs2. In the #2;fth version, we form a crs2 hybrid algorithm by probabilistically combining the point generation scheme of crs2 with that of de in the crs2 algorithm. Finally, we propose #2;ve new versions of the real coded genetic algorithm (ga) with arithmetic crossover. In the #2;rst version of ga, we introduce a local technique. We propose, in the second version, an integrated crossover rule that generates two children at a time using two different crossover rules. We introduce a local technique in the second version to obtain the third version. The fourth and #2;fth versions are based on the probabilistic adaptation of crossover rules. The ef#2;ciency and reliability of the new methods are evaluated through numerical experiments using a large test suite of both simple and dif#2;cult problems from the literature. Results indicate that the new hybrids are much better than their original counterparts both in reliability and ef#2;ciency. Therefore, the new hybrids proposed in this study offer an alternative to many currently available stochastic algorithms for solving global optimization problems in which the gradient information is not readily available.

In this study, I examine two writing samples using a heuristic based on Richard A. Lanham's definition of bureaucratic writing in Revising Business Prose: noun-centered, abstract, passive-voiced, dense, and vague. I apply a heuristic to bureaucratic writing to see if Lanham's definition holds and if the writing aids or hinders the information flow necessary to democracy. After analyzing the samples for nominalizations, concrete/abstract terms, active/passive verbs, clear/unclear agents, textual density, and vague text/writers' accountability, I conclude that most of Lanham's definition holds; vague writing hinders the democratic process by not being accountable; and bureaucratic writing is expensive. Writers may humanize bureaucracies by becoming accountable. A complete study requires more samples from a wider source.

Les travaux de cette thèse concernent la conception et l’optimisation de lignes de transfert reconfigurables. L’objectif principal est de concevoir une ligne d’usinage à moindre coût tout en respectant les contraintes techniques, technologiques et économiques du problème. Le problème d’optimisation correspondant est un problème d’équilibrage de lignes d’usinage sujet à des contraintes spécifiques. Il consiste à affecter les opérations aux stations de travail en minimisant les coûts d’installation. En plus des contraintes habituelles de ce type de problème, à savoir, les contraintes de précédence, d’inclusion et d’exclusion, nous avons dû considérer des contraintes d’accessibilité. De plus, la spécificité principale des lignes reconfigurables par rapport aux lignes de transfert dédiées, vient de la réalisation en série des opérations. Celle-ci rend souvent nécessaire la mise en place de stations équipées de plusieurs centres d’usinage travaillant en parallèle pour obtenir les volumes de production souhaités. Enfin, l’utilisation d’une tête d’usinage mono-broche induit la prise en compte de temps inter-opératoire de déplacements et de changement d’outils qui dépendent de la séquence d’opérations. Dans un premier temps, nous avons proposé une modélisation mathématique du problème à l’aide d’un programme linéaire en nombres mixtes. Nous avons aussi développé des méthodes de calcul de bornes inférieures ainsi qu’une procédure de prétraitement. Cependant, les contraintes additionnelles rendent la résolution du problème d’équilibrage plus difficile que dans le cas des lignes dédiées, et l’approche proposée ne permet généralement pas de résoudre des instances de taille industrielle. Pour répondre à ce besoin, nous avons donc développé plusieurs méthodes de résolution approchées du problème en nous inspirant de métaheuristiques efficaces sur des problèmes d’optimisation combinatoire. / This work concerns the design and the optimization of reconfigurable transfer lines. The principle objective is to design a machining line with less cost while respecting the technological and economic constraints of the problem. The corresponding optimization problem is a transfer lines balancing problem subject to specific constraints. It consists to affect operations to workstations minimizing the installations cost. In addition to the habitual constraints of the transfer balancing problem, i.e. precedence, inclusion and exclusion constraints, we consider accessibility constraints. In addition, the principal specificity of reconfigurable lines compared to the dedicated transfer lines, comes from the sequential execution of operations. This often makes it necessary to set up stations with several machining centers working in parallel to achieve desired production volumes. Finally, the utilization of mono-spindle head machining center induces the inclusion of setup times between operations. This setup time is due to the time of displacement and change of tools which it depends of the operational sequence. We proposed firstly a mathematical formalization of the problem using a mixed integer program. We developed also several methods to calculate lower bounds and a pretreatment procedure. However, the additional constraints make the resolution of the considered balancing problem very difficult and the proposed approach generally does not solve instances of industrial size. To meet this need, we have developed several approximate resolution methods of the problem taking inspiration from effective Metaheuristics on combinatorial optimization problems.

The purpose of this research was to determine whether changes in the presentation format of items in a computer display could be used to alter the impact of specific cognitive biases, and to add to the knowledge needed to construct theory-based guidelines for output design. The problem motivating this study is twofold. The first part of the problem is the sub-optimal decision making caused by the use of heuristics and their associated cognitive biases. The second part of the problem is the lack of a theoretical basis to guide the design of information presentation formats to counter the effects of such biases. An availability model of the impact of changes in presentation format on biases and heuristics was constructed based on the findings of a literature review. A six-part laboratory experiment was conducted utilizing a sample of 205 student subjects from the college of business. The independent variable was presentation format which was manipulated by altering the visual salience or visual recency of items of information in a visual computer display. The dependent variables included recall, perceived importance, and the subjects' responses to three judgment tasks. The results clearly demonstrate that changes in presentation format can be used to alter the impact of cognitive biases on human decision making. The results also provide support for the availability model, with the exception of the proposed influence of learning style. Learning style was found to have no significant impact on decision making whether alone or in combination with changes in presentation format. The results of this investigation demonstrate that by using our knowledge of cognitive processes (e.g., the visual salience effect, the visual recency effect, and the availability heuristic), presentation formats can be altered in order to moderate the effects of certain biases and heuristics in human decision making. An understanding of these results may be useful in improving DSS design.