This thesis is concerned with policy space abstractions that concisely encode alternative ways of making decisions; dealing with discovery, learning, adaptation and use of these abstractions. This work is motivated by the problem faced by autonomous agents that operate within a domain for long periods of time, hence having to learn to solve many different task instances that share some structural attributes. An example of such a domain is an autonomous robot in a dynamic domestic environment. Such environments raise the need for transfer of knowledge, so as to eliminate the need for long learning trials after deployment. Typically, these tasks would be modelled as sequential decision making problems, including path optimisation for navigation tasks, or Markov Decision Process models for more general tasks. Learning within such models often takes the form of online learning or reinforcement learning. However, handling issues such as knowledge transfer and multiple task instances requires notions of structure and hierarchy, and that raises several questions that form the topic of this thesis – (a) can an agent acquire such hierarchies in policies in an online, incremental manner, (b) can we devise mathematically rigorous ways to abstract policies based on qualitative attributes, (c) when it is inconvenient to employ prolonged trial and error learning, can we devise alternate algorithmic methods for decision making in a lifelong setting? The first contribution of this thesis is an algorithmic method for incrementally acquiring hierarchical policies. Working with the framework of options - temporally extended actions - in reinforcement learning, we present a method for discovering persistent subtasks that define useful options for a particular domain. Our algorithm builds on a probabilistic mixture model in state space to define a generalised and persistent form of ‘bottlenecks’, and suggests suitable policy fragments to make options. In order to continuously update this hierarchy, we devise an incremental process which runs in the background and takes care of proposing and forgetting options. We evaluate this framework in simulated worlds, including the RoboCup 2D simulation league domain. The second contribution of this thesis is in defining abstractions in terms of equivalence classes of trajectories. Utilising recently developed techniques from computational topology, in particular the concept of persistent homology, we show that a library of feasible trajectories could be retracted to representative paths that may be sufficient for reasoning about plans at the abstract level. We present a complete framework, starting from a novel construction of a simplicial complex that describes higher-order connectivity properties of a spatial domain, to methods for computing the homology of this complex at varying resolutions. The resulting abstractions are motion primitives that may be used as topological options, contributing a novel criterion for option discovery. This is validated by experiments in simulated 2D robot navigation, and in manipulation using a physical robot platform. Finally, we develop techniques for solving a family of related, but different, problem instances through policy reuse of a finite policy library acquired over the agent’s lifetime. This represents an alternative approach when traditional methods such as hierarchical reinforcement learning are not computationally feasible. We abstract the policy space using a non-parametric model of performance of policies in multiple task instances, so that decision making is posed as a Bayesian choice regarding what to reuse. This is one approach to transfer learning that is motivated by the needs of practical long-lived systems. We show the merits of such Bayesian policy reuse in simulated real-time interactive systems, including online personalisation and surveillance.

This study investigates if companies that actively use export information have higher export growth rates or greater satisfaction with export performance measures than non-users. Organizational communication structures relating to information flow to decision makers is investigated to provide further insight into the role of export information. The study is based upon the knowledge utilization theory which states company/user characteristics are as important to information utilization as the characteristics of the specific piece of information. Bivariate analysis does not indicate a direct relationship between information use and reported higher export growth rates over the past four years. However, there are indications of divergence in how information users and non-users view and utilize information. One critical finding is that information users have a statistically significant relationship toward symbolic utilization of export information. Additional differences were observed in third-party information use versus monitoring world news to evaluate export operations. The study investigates company characteristics against the three components of knowledge utilization (instrumental, conceptual and symbolic use) and the five components of information use (competitive advantage, information acquisition/need, influence of information on decisionmaking, organizational learning and organizational knowledge/information processing).

Contemporary English health policy is saturated with claims about what the world is like and how it might be otherwise. These claims span the wide range of subject matters covered by health policy, from hospital waiting times to our preparedness for major disease outbreaks; from structures for the planning and purchasing of healthcare to requirements around the sharing of patient records. Despite this, empirical studies of health policymakers working at the national level in the UK suggest that research evidence plays only a very limited role in policy development (Lavis et al. 2005; Dash 2003; Dash et al. 2003; Innvær et al. 2002; Petticrew et al. 2008). This apparent contradiction was the starting-­‐point for this project. If civil servants are not drawing on research knowledge in their work, how is it that they are able to devise policy about such complex and technical policy issues? Policy-­‐making requires knowing the world in some way in order to act upon it. My research asks, what kinds of knowledge are civil servants in England’s Department of Health using in their work, and what forms does this use take? This thesis is situated in an emerging field of interpretive policy analysis which treats policymaking as realised in the daily work practices of communities of individuals (Wagenaar & Cook 2003; Wagenaar 2004; Colebatch 2006; Colebatch et al. 2010; Freeman et al. 2011). I have adopted an ethnographic approach, conducting 60 hours of original data collection in the form of interviews and meeting observations among mostly mid-­‐ranking civil servants working on various high-­‐profile health policies in 2010-­‐11. By analysing my fieldwork experiences and the resulting data, and by relating these to insights from theoretical resources in sociology, psychology and philosophy, I offer an account of the different forms of knowing and knowledge entailed in the practice of policy-­‐making. I identify three forms of knowledge and knowing that were integral to the work of the civil servants I studied: the ‘practices of knowing’ by which they came to understand the objects of their policies and think through the possibilities for their reform; the ‘pragmatic use of knowledge claims’ in which facts, figures and stories were invoked to generate support for policies and to defend decisions taken; and the ‘know-­‐how of policymaking’, which was the most important form of knowledge for the civil servants’ professional identities. In the conclusion, I reflect on the aspects of knowledge and knowing which are shared by the civil servants’ practices and my own work in producing this thesis.

The thesis describes a programme of research work to develop and apply knowledge mapping and knowledge management techniques to effectively assess and enhance sustainability within urban redevelopment projects. The research programme was initiated in collaboration with Dundee City Council to support sustainable development in a major programme of urban redevelopment. There is limited evidence that the body of knowledge arising from research in sustainable urban development is being holistically integrated within real life decision making practices to operationalise sustainability. Sustainability assessment has the potential to influence decision making and consequently by improving sustainability assessment practice project decision making should be enhanced. In addition, closer integration between assessment and decision making may not only lead to improve decisions, but also to the improved learning of those involved. This can be greatly facilitated by knowledge management, which can be used to understand and then facilitate greater learning amongst stakeholders. A theoretical framework for the assessment, monitoring and enhancement of sustainability was developed and applied in two parts to a case study, a monitoring component and an enhancement component. As a result of the case study a sustainability assessment and monitoring framework was successfully established for Dundee Waterfront in line with the assessment component of the theoretical framework. The indicators are now used by Dundee City Council at project and departmental level, providing the link across policies, programmes and projects. The key challenge addressed in developing the benchmark indicators was establishing robust governance for the monitoring framework. An enhancement framework was successfully established for Dundee Waterfront in line with the enhancement component of the theoretical framework. Decision mapping and knowledge elicitation techniques were successfully developed and applied to the case study to identify, key points in decision process, the information decision makers' need and which knowledge objects are being used in decision making. It is concluded that the knowledge elicitation and mapping approaches applied were effective at identifying both existing processes and knowledge objects used in infrastructure provision. This allowed a Knowledge Map for Sustainability to be developed to identify what information is currently used to influence sustainability and identify future opportunities to enhance practise. The map was effective in capturing the role of each stage in the process towards translating the sustainability vision as proved by user verification. The Map showed for the first time the aspects of sustainability in infrastructure provision and can be used to systematically operationalise sustainable development. However, the use of the map to embed sustainability into learning process could not be verified by practise in the currency of the thesis. A limitation of the case study application is that the integrated sustainability assessment and enhancement framework has been applied in a Scottish local authority context, to an organisation with a Quality Management System and outcome based indicators. These factors have been identified as contributing factors to the success of the sustainability assessment and enhancement framework as applied in the case study. This has the potential to limit the exportability of any findings. However, whilst considering the monitoring component it is recognised that similar outcome based indicators may exist at other local authorities and private organisations. In addition, the knowledge elicitation and mapping technique is an adaptive framework and as such is designed to respond to other organisation structures. Therefore by its nature it should be exportable to other applications. However three main questions remain to be addressed prior to the research question being answered in full. Firstly, uncertainty related to governance and long term use of the framework. Secondly, testing how the Knowledge Map for Sustainability is used in practice and thirdly the exportability of findings from the case study. It is recommended that these limitations be addressed in future work.

Esta pesquisa se situa na fronteira entre as artes cênicas e a psicologia, em especial a perspectiva semiótico-cultural. Temos por tema a relação entre a experiência corporal-estética e o formar-se (Bildung). Nosso foco está em pessoas que empreendem costumeiramente iniciativas de criação teatral, em especial aquelas que as tomem por atividades profissionais. Objetivamos responder à questão: Qual o papel da experiência corporal-estética na formação do ser-ator e nos seus processos de construção de conhecimento a respeito do seu potencial de ação simbólica? Utilizamos, para tanto, da explicitação e análise de parte das experiências práticas do Eu-Outro Núcleo de Pesquisa Cênica, quando da montagem de dois espetáculos teatrais - Favores da Lua o prólogo e O Touro Branco. Essas experiências ilustram três eixos de discussão teórica de que nos utilizamos para responder a questão central desta investigação: 1 a ideia de Merleau-Ponty (2006a; 2006b; 2011; 2012; 2013) de que o homem é um fenômeno senciente que persiste no tempo; 2 a aproximação que Gadamer (1985; 2008; 2010; 2011) faz entre as artes, o jogo e festa, de onde reconhecemos uma dupla possibilidade de experiência do tempo como linear e como cíclico e a repetição como categoria temporal das artes cênicas; 3 o desenvolvimento conceitual de Boesch (1991) sobre cultura e ação em articulação com as propostas de Elias (1993; 1994a; 1994b; 1998) sobre a inevitável interdependência constitutiva entre identidade de grupo e identidade pessoal. Concluímos existir um conhecimento inerente à criação teatral, que se refere a certo poder do ser sobre o mundo. Esse poder, quando alargado, reorganiza a existência senciente do ser e nisso estabelece novas possibilidades e limites para suas relações futuras com esse mesmo mundo. A formação, nesses termos, com que lidamos nesta pesquisa é, nos termos gadamerianos, um constante sair de si para voltar a si modificado / This research stands on the boundaries between scenic arts and the psychology, in particular the semiotic-cultural perspective. We have as a subject-matter the relationship between corporal-aesthetic experience and the Bildung. Our focus is on people that get involved with theatrical creative processes, particularly those who consider them as professional activities. Our goal is to answer the question: Which is the role of corporal-aesthetic experience in the bildung of being-actor and in the processes of making-knowledge regarding to his potential of symbolic action? We use, therefore, the explanation and analysis of practical experiences of I-Other Nucleus of Scenic Research, while set up of two theater shows - \"Favours of the Moon - the prologue\" and \"The White Bull\". These experiences illustrate three areas of theoretical discussion that we use to answer the central question of this research: 1 - the idea by Merleau-Ponty (2006a, 2006b, 2011; 2012; 2013) that man is a sentient phenomenon that persists over time; 2 the approximation that Gadamer (1985; 2008, 2010, 2011) makes between the arts, play and party, where we recognize the possibility of a dual experience of time - as linear and cyclic - and the repetition as a temporal category of scenic arts; 3 - the conceptual development by Boesch (1991) on culture and action, which we articulate with the proposals by Elias (1993, 1994a, 1994b, 1998) on the inevitable constitutive interdependence between both group and personal identity. We conclude there is an inherent knowledge to the theatrical creation, which refers to a certain power of being on the world. This power, when extended, reorganizes the sentient existence of being and that establishes new limits and possibilities for his future relationship with the world. The Bildung, in these terms, we deal with in this research is, in accordance with Gadamerian´s terms, a constant leaving itself to get back to itself modified

Esta pesquisa se situa na fronteira entre as artes cênicas e a psicologia, em especial a perspectiva semiótico-cultural. Temos por tema a relação entre a experiência corporal-estética e o formar-se (Bildung). Nosso foco está em pessoas que empreendem costumeiramente iniciativas de criação teatral, em especial aquelas que as tomem por atividades profissionais. Objetivamos responder à questão: Qual o papel da experiência corporal-estética na formação do ser-ator e nos seus processos de construção de conhecimento a respeito do seu potencial de ação simbólica? Utilizamos, para tanto, da explicitação e análise de parte das experiências práticas do Eu-Outro Núcleo de Pesquisa Cênica, quando da montagem de dois espetáculos teatrais - Favores da Lua o prólogo e O Touro Branco. Essas experiências ilustram três eixos de discussão teórica de que nos utilizamos para responder a questão central desta investigação: 1 a ideia de Merleau-Ponty (2006a; 2006b; 2011; 2012; 2013) de que o homem é um fenômeno senciente que persiste no tempo; 2 a aproximação que Gadamer (1985; 2008; 2010; 2011) faz entre as artes, o jogo e festa, de onde reconhecemos uma dupla possibilidade de experiência do tempo como linear e como cíclico e a repetição como categoria temporal das artes cênicas; 3 o desenvolvimento conceitual de Boesch (1991) sobre cultura e ação em articulação com as propostas de Elias (1993; 1994a; 1994b; 1998) sobre a inevitável interdependência constitutiva entre identidade de grupo e identidade pessoal. Concluímos existir um conhecimento inerente à criação teatral, que se refere a certo poder do ser sobre o mundo. Esse poder, quando alargado, reorganiza a existência senciente do ser e nisso estabelece novas possibilidades e limites para suas relações futuras com esse mesmo mundo. A formação, nesses termos, com que lidamos nesta pesquisa é, nos termos gadamerianos, um constante sair de si para voltar a si modificado / This research stands on the boundaries between scenic arts and the psychology, in particular the semiotic-cultural perspective. We have as a subject-matter the relationship between corporal-aesthetic experience and the Bildung. Our focus is on people that get involved with theatrical creative processes, particularly those who consider them as professional activities. Our goal is to answer the question: Which is the role of corporal-aesthetic experience in the bildung of being-actor and in the processes of making-knowledge regarding to his potential of symbolic action? We use, therefore, the explanation and analysis of practical experiences of I-Other Nucleus of Scenic Research, while set up of two theater shows - \"Favours of the Moon - the prologue\" and \"The White Bull\". These experiences illustrate three areas of theoretical discussion that we use to answer the central question of this research: 1 - the idea by Merleau-Ponty (2006a, 2006b, 2011; 2012; 2013) that man is a sentient phenomenon that persists over time; 2 the approximation that Gadamer (1985; 2008, 2010, 2011) makes between the arts, play and party, where we recognize the possibility of a dual experience of time - as linear and cyclic - and the repetition as a temporal category of scenic arts; 3 - the conceptual development by Boesch (1991) on culture and action, which we articulate with the proposals by Elias (1993, 1994a, 1994b, 1998) on the inevitable constitutive interdependence between both group and personal identity. We conclude there is an inherent knowledge to the theatrical creation, which refers to a certain power of being on the world. This power, when extended, reorganizes the sentient existence of being and that establishes new limits and possibilities for his future relationship with the world. The Bildung, in these terms, we deal with in this research is, in accordance with Gadamerian´s terms, a constant leaving itself to get back to itself modified

Thesis (MPhil (Sociology and Social Anthropology))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / The purpose of the study is to demonstrate the significance of words and their meaning in knowledge development and perception formulation. Meanings attached to the AIDS epidemic are used to test people’s understanding of this disease. The study is also aimed at demonstrating how false perceptions and wrong concepts are likely to occur if the problem of meaning is not addressed.