No / A genetic algorithm (GA) augmented with knowledge-based methods has been developed for solving the unit commitment economic dispatch problem. The GA evolves a population of binary strings which represent commitment schedules. The initial population of schedules is chosen using a method based on elicited scheduling knowledge. A fast rule-based dispatch method is then used to evaluate candidate solutions. The knowledge-based genetic algorithm is applied to a test system of ten thermal units over 24-hour time intervals, including minimum on/off times and ramp rates, and achieves lower cost solutions than Lagrangian relaxation in comparable computational time.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 28-31, 1985 / Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada / The creative process of the visual artist is an untapped source of knowledge-based systems which can extend the capabilities of AI in understanding how to develop new algorithms for space perception, pattern recognition, and data compression. This report focuses on the artist’s analysis of the multi-dimensional levels of unconscious, visual ideation which precede the conscious level of symbolic coding. interaction of all the senses is examined, as are the functions of gravity and time as the fundamental reference points for pattern recognition. An exercise in ‘Image Evoking’ is described. Recommendations are given for applications to future research in AI.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 28-31, 1996 / Town and Country Hotel and Convention Center, San Diego, California / We report on the initial design and development of a prototype computer-mediated response system, the Fault Induced Document Officer (FIDO), at the UC Berkeley Center for EUV Astrophysics (CEA) Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer project (EUVE). Typical 24x7 staffed spacecraft operations use highly skilled expert teams to monitor current ground systems and spacecraft state for responding to anomalous ground system and spacecraft conditions. Response to ground system error messages and spacecraft anomalies is based on knowledge of nominal component behavior and the evaluation of relevant telemetry by the team. This type of human-mediated operation is being replaced by an intelligent software system to reduce costs and to increase performance and reliability. FIDO is a prototype software application that will provide automated retrieval and display of documentation for operations staff. Initially, FIDO will be applied for ground systems. Later implementations of FIDO will target spacecraft systems. FIDO is intended to provide system state summary, links to relevant documentation, and suggestions for operator responses to error messages. FIDO will provide the operator with near realtime expert assistance and access to necessary information. This configuration should allow the resolution of many anomalies without the need for on-site intervention by a skilled controller or expert.

This research addresses two puzzles: Why do similar regions within countries pursue different commitment strategies towards growing their bioscience industries? Why do some change in response to a global financial shock and others do not? I argue that the presence and strength of a knowledge-oriented strategy team (KOST) helps to explain different levels of and changes in bioscience commitment strategies. The study weaves in additional explanations including natural resources, rival industries, national institutions and path dependence. The most significant finding of this research is that those Canadian provinces that established a strong KOST prior to the 2008 global financial crisis "puzzled and powered through" to maintain high level commitments to their bioscience industries afterwards. Their KOSTs engaged in disruptive social learning and coordinative bargaining processes.

Innovation is widely recognised as essential to the modern economy. The term knowledgebased innovation system has been used to refer to innovation systems which recognise the importance of an economy’s knowledge base and the efficient interactions between important actors from the different sectors of society. Such interactions are thought to enable greater innovation by the system as a whole. Whilst it may not be possible to fully understand all the complex relationships involved within knowledge-based innovation systems, within the field of informetrics bibliometric methodologies have emerged that allows us to analyse some of the relationships that contribute to the innovation process. However, due to the limitations in traditional bibliometric sources it is important to investigate new potential sources of information. The web is one such source. This thesis documents an investigation into the potential of the web to provide information about knowledge-based innovation systems in the United Kingdom. Within this thesis the link analysis methodologies that have previously been successfully applied to investigations of the academic community (Thelwall, 2004a) are applied to organisations from different sections of society to determine whether link analysis of the web can provide a new source of information about knowledge-based innovation systems in the UK. This study makes the case that data may be collected ethically to provide information about the interconnections between web sites of various different sizes and from within different sectors of society, that there are significant differences in the linking practices of web sites within different sectors, and that reciprocal links provide a better indication of collaboration than uni-directional web links. Most importantly the study shows that the web provides new information about the relationships between organisations, rather than just a repetition of the same information from an alternative source. Whilst the study has shown that there is a lot of potential for the web as a source of information on knowledge-based innovation systems, the same richness that makes it such a potentially useful source makes applications of large scale studies very labour intensive.

<p>Alfa is one of the world’s leading IT advisory companies, with research and consulting abilities. Alfa Nordics is a successful part of Alfa focused on consulting in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Alfa Nordics will double their number of employees by the end of 2010 and we were asked to investigate how Alfa Nordics should enable this growth while keep being successful in having high profits, a strong brand, motivated employees and satisfied clients. By using theories about KBOs (Knowledge-Based Organizations) and conducting interviews with employees at Alfa Nordics we identified what makes Alfa Nordics successful today and what they should do to keep these success factors when growing. To keep their success within the organization Alfa should keep the execution teams small, recruit a resource manager and improve the knowledge exchange between the countries. To keep making successful engagements they should keep defining the problem in the best way for the client, ensuring sales and keep having the right employees. To keep their success in employing top consultants they should be visible in talented people environments, show that they are growing, develop a more thorough recruiting plan.</p>

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‘Lean’ or ‘lean thinking’ refers to an improvement philosophy which focuses on the fulfilment of customer value and the reduction of waste. This philosophy is credited with the extraordinary rise of Toyota, one of the largest and most profitable automotive companies in the world. This thesis presents a pioneering study investigating how lean thinking should be applied to product development (PD). The aim of the research was to construct an innovative model which supports the implementation of lean thinking in PD. This was achieved through progressive collaboration with practitioners from European manufacturing companies. The model provides a process for the conceptual development of an engineering project, and is composed of phases and activities for which methodologies have been defined. The construction of the lean PD model was preceded by a systematic literature review and an industrial field study, wherein 36 semi-structured interviews were conducted in five manufacturing companies in Europe. The constructed model was later implemented on two real-life case studies via action research. The two conducted case studies involved the product architecture design for a car audio head unit and the development of a helicopter engine. It was concluded that the lean PD model addresses various industrial challenges including customer value, communication, and innovation. Furthermore, by focusing on conceptual design, the lean PD model is expected to reduce design rework. As a result of the positive effects of the model, one of the companies involved intends to implement the lean PD model further, and wishes to extend the model to the rest of the organisation. This research makes four main contributions: (1) a novel lean PD model; (2) a number of tools developed to support the model; (3) a framework for lean PD enablers; and (4) a categorisation of challenges faced by PD in industry used to verify the relevance of the lean PD model.

This paper analyses an ongoing economization trend in the sphere of higher education (HE) and discusses its implications on higher education for sustainable development (HESD). The sources of this trend are connected with neoliberalism understood as a political project that seeks to extend competitive market forces, consolidate a market-friendly constitution, and promote individual freedom. In global HE neoliberalism, decision-makers, be it educational, scientific, or other, are pressured to assess how their activities impact financially on the individual, organizational, and institutional levels and/or the imperatives of an internationally competitive economy. The paper provides a contemporary analysis of the rise of neoliberalism in HE, understood as the specific trend of an academic capitalist knowledge/learning regime explained by Jessop's six analytic distinct and potentially overlapping stages of economization. This analysis is based on a review of European policies from 2006 until 2017 and explains characteristics of current economization strategies. Their core principles relating to higher education are about improving economic performance based on knowledge and innovation. Smart growth is defined politically as the main purpose of HE and positioning students as future workers, with the right higher skills, as the means. The relevance of students' skills higher education institutions (HEI) are urged to develop highly depend on business demands. European policies are driven by a comprehensive entrepreneurial agenda restructuring the organizational mechanisms in HE. Accountability towards the labour market and skills performance of students set this agenda. Funding strategies rest on strong industry ties and diversification of revenue streams depend on HEI capability to establish tech-driven knowledge alliances between research, education and business. These new intermediary and powerful alliances drive economization strategies, influence curriculum development and decide on relevant higher level skills. Respective learning practices are oriented strongly towards developing entrepreneurial and digital skills based on personalized learning environments. Currently HESD adapts towards a neoliberal education agenda rather than preventing further shifts from a capitalist towards a competitive financialized economy. A profound critique would have to question the dominant economization trends in higher education i.e. the very purpose of education and the current raison d¿etre of HEI. The core of the critique might build on new institutionalized learning environments allowing deep, social learning and, hence, the potential of HEI to act as social catalysts empowering collective and disruptive agency. / Series: SRE - Discussion Papers

The recent downturn in world sugar prices has placed even greater demands upon the Australian sugar industry to reduce the costs of sugar manufacture and increase the consistency of producing high quality sugar. One of the proposed approaches in increasing the consistency of very high quality sugar production and leveraging further avenues for cost saving is in the development of a computer based advisory system. This system is able to provide expert knowledge in the area of pan stage management and best practices in the absence of human experts. This thesis explores the design, key features and outcomes of a knowledge based supervisory support system (KBSSS) framework proposed specifically for providing cooperative decision support in the area of pan stage operations within a sugar mill. To demonstrate the viability of the proposed KBSSS framework a prototype system was developed in accordance with the proposed framework. The KBSSS utilises three core innovative system technologies that form the core components of the proposed KBSSS framework. These technologies are: 1) Dynamic industrial pan stage process models for identifying the dynamic relationships between sections of pan stage operations to allow for future forecasting of pan stage operating conditions, 2) Integration techniques for the merging of the developed pan stage process models into the hybrid fuzzy logic expert system rule base to provide localisation adjustment to match with local real world factory operational conditions, and 3) Explanatory capabilities to provide justification and support of system advice and recommendations. As a result of research and development carried out in this thesis, the KBSSS's test results demonstrated in the thesis indicate the viability of the proposed KBSSS framework and highlight the forecasting capabilities of the developed system resulting in favourable outcomes compared to data from pan stage operations. As a result of the research undertaken in the thesis a prototype KBSSS, for pan stage operations, based upon the three core supporting intelligent system technologies reported in the thesis has been developed.