Decision-related activities, such as bottom-up and top-down policy development, analysis, and planning, stand to benefit from the development and application of computer-based models that are capable of representing spatiotemporal social human behavior in local contexts. This is especially the case with our efforts to understand and search for ways to mitigate the context-specific effects of climate change, in which case such models need to include interacting social and ecological components. The development and application of such models has been significantly hindered by the challenges in designing artificial agents whose behavior is grounded in both empirical evidence and theory and in testing the ability of artificial agents to represent the behavior of real-world decision-makers. This dissertation advances our ability to develop such models by overcoming these challenges through the creation of: (a) three new frameworks, (b) two new methods, and (c) two new open-source modeling tools. The three new frameworks include: (a) the SOSIEL framework, which provides a theoretically-grounded blueprint for the development of a new generation of cognitive, multi-agent, and knowledge-based models that consist of agents empowered with cognitive architectures; (b) a new framework for analyzing the bounded rationality of decision-makers, which offers insight into and facilitates the analysis of the relationship between a decision situation and a decision-maker's decision; and (c) a new framework for analyzing the doubly-bounded rationality (DBR) of artificial agents, which does the same for the relationship between a decision situation and an artificial agent's decision. The two new methods include: (a) the SOSIEL method for acquiring and operationalizing decision-making knowledge, which advances our ability to acquire, process, and represent decision-making knowledge for cognitive, multi-agent, and knowledge-based models; and (b) the DBR method for testing the ability of artificial agents to represent human decision-making. The two open-source modeling tools include: (a) the SOSIEL platform, which is a cognitive, multi-agent, and knowledge-based platform for simulating human decision-making; and (b) an application of the platform as the SOSIEL Human Extension (SHE) to an existing forest-climate change model, called LANDIS-II, allowing for the analysis of co-evolutionary human-forest-climate interactions. To provide a context for examples and also guidelines for knowledge acquisition, the dissertation includes a case study of social-ecological interactions in an area of the Ukrainian Carpathians where LANDIS-II with SHE are currently being applied. As a result, this dissertation advances science by: (a) providing a theoretical foundation for and demonstrating the implementation of a next generation of models that are cognitive, multi-agent, and knowledge-based; and (b) providing a new perspective for understanding, analyzing, and testing the ability of artificial agents to represent human decision-making that is rooted in psychology.

This study aims to explore the decision-making criteria for requirements selection in market-driven software development projects in China. Requirements selection decisions are made by reconciling the conflicting stakeholders??? value propositions into a mutually-agreed set through the negotiation and communication process between stakeholders. Firstly, this study identified decision-making criteria according to different stakeholders??? value propositions, and then evaluated the importance of the criteria when making the decisions of requirements selection. Moreover, the study determined the degree to which the stakeholders from business, product, and project perspectives influence the decision-making process. Furthermore, the study explored the communication between major stakeholders in requirements selection process, as a foundation to support and guide the process. A Delphi survey was applied in this study. Opinions from experienced industrial experts were obtained to achieve reliable consensus among them on the criteria and relative importance of the criteria in requirements selection process. The Delphi survey in this study included four phases of data collection by a series of intensive questionnaires interspersed with controlled opinion feedback and follow-up interviews. 132 Experts from 11 companies were recruited by following the rigid procedure to ensure the validity and reliability of the research. The study indicated that criteria from the business perspective had a major influence on decision-making of requirements selection, while project- and product-perspective criteria were relatively lower in priority. However, there were some inconsistencies among the opinions of the recruited experts regarding the importance of the criteria. The inconsistencies may result from a number of different factors, for example; different software development projects; different size, culture, organizational structure or maturity level of the companies; or different working positions of the experts surveyed. In addition, the study found three different types of communication in requirements selection in the companies surveyed. Further, Chinese culture was believed to have effects on the communication process between stakeholders. While informal communication was highlighted in Chinese context, the Chinese culture of strictly hierarchical communication could lead to problems in the communication process. Further research is recommended to gain deeper insight into these issues.

<p>Effects of functioning transportation infrastructure are receiving more and more environmental and social concern nowadays. Nevertheless, preliminary corridor plans are usually developed on the basis of technical and economic criteria exclusively. By the time of environmental impact assessment (EIA), which succeeds, relocation is practically impossible and only preventative measures can be applied.</p><p>This paper proposes a GIS-based method of delimiting motorway corridor and integrating social, environmental and economic factors into the early stages of planning. Multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) techniques are used to assess all possible alternatives. GIS-held weighted shortest path algorithm enables to locate the corridor. The evaluation criteria are exemplary. They include nature conservation, buildings, forests and agricultural resources, and soils. Resulting evaluation surface is divided into a grid of cells, which are assigned suitability scores derived from all evaluation criteria. Subsequently, a set of adjacent cells connecting two pre-specified points is traced by the least-cost path algorithm. The best alternative has a lowest total value of suitability scores.</p><p>As a result, the proposed motorway corridor is routed from origin to destination. It is afterwards compared with an alternative derived by traditional planning procedures. Concluding remarks are that the location criteria need to be adjusted to meet construction</p><p>requirements as well as analysis process to be automated. Nevertheless, the geographic information system and the embedded shortest path algorithm proved to be well suited for preliminary corridor location analysis. Future research directions are sketched.</p>

The façade retrofit market faces some key barriers: the selection of performance criteria and the reliability of the performance data. On the demand side, the problem is approached from an investment perspective which creates "split incentives" between the stakeholders who pay for the investment and those who benefit from it. On the supply side, there is an inherent complexity in modeling these options because of the incomplete knowledge of the physical and cost parameters involved in the performance evaluation. The thermal comfort of the building occupant is an important component of the retrofit performance assessment. This research attempts to fill a gap in the approach to façade retrofit decision by 1) quantifying uncertainties in these three dimensions of performance, 2) incorporating new financing models available in the retrofit market, 3) considering the target and risk attitude of the decision maker. The methodology proposed in this research integrates key indicators for delivery process, environmental performance, and investment performance. The purpose is to provide a methodological framework for performance evaluation. A residential case study is conducted to test the proposed framework. Three retrofit scenarios including the financing structure are examined. Each façade retrofit scenario is then evaluated based on the level of confidence to meet or exceed a specific target improvement for the Net Present Value and the risk to fall below a minimum improvement threshold. The case study results confirm that risk must be considered for more reliable façade retrofit decision-making. Research findings point to further research needed to expand the understanding of the interdependencies among uncertain parameters.

The main purpose of this thesis is to develop a new model which helps the decision maker to rationalize outsourcing decisions based on Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis and select the appropriate supplier. The model developed consists of four main phases, as well as a pre-evaluating step, which investigate the organization needs and circumstances. Phase I is an evaluation and calculation phase, it assess whether outsourcing is the right policy to be adopted as a competitive advantage from two perspectives; the strategic evaluation of the outsourcing decision, and the cost savings through the life time of the outsourcing process using LCC. Phase II is supplier's selection; it aims to select the preferred supplier using Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM), as well as identifies performance measures to monitor supplier performance. Phase III is maintain and monitor phase, it aims to keep the process and the supplier under continuous revision and assessment. Phase IV is review phase, it aims to identify if a specified monitored parameter is out of control or at critical levels, and identify the causes. This model contribute in covering the lack in the literature by considering LCC in the outsourcing decision making, as well as providing a structured model that concern about the whole process starting by understanding the organizations need and ends by monitoring and review the outsourcing process. The model was validated at one Swedish company, i.e. Kalmar Industries in Ljungby assembly unit, in particular, within the maintenance department. The results of the model validation shows that using LCCA, and risk benefits associated, the preferred alternative is to outsource all the maintenance activities related to ventilation system, these activates involve maintenance personnel, spare parts, and third party to monitor and report the process to authorities. Furthermore, based on LCCA and other suggested criteria and using MCDM, ABB Supplier got the lowest score in MCDM i.e. 36.70% (the lowest LCC along with fulfillment of the qualitative criteria). The main result is that; it is possible to employ LCCA in the maintenance outsourcing process to achieve a strategic model valid for decisions taking over the life length of the process. Consequently, the main recommendation for the case company is to outsource these activities and to transfer it to ABB service supplier.

An increasing number of agencies have begun to define sustainability for transportation systems and are taking steps to incorporate the concept into the regional transportation planning process. Planning for sustainable transportation systems should at the very least incorporate their broader impacts on system effectiveness, environmental integrity, economic development, and the social quality of life. This study reviews definitions, performance measures, and evaluation methodologies for transportation system sustainability and demonstrates a framework for incorporating sustainability considerations in transportation planning and decision making. Through a case study using data from the Atlanta Metropolitan Region, the study evaluates competing transportation and land use plans based on a broad range of sustainability parameters using relevant spatial and environmental analyses. A multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) method enables the aggregation of individual performance measures into four basic indexes and further into a composite sustainability index based on regional goals and priorities. The value of the indexes lies in their ability to capture the multidimensional nature of sustainability as well as important tradeoffs among the potentially conflicting decision criteria. A decision support tool is proposed to visualize dominance and tradeoffs when evaluating alternatives and to effectively reflect changing regional priorities over time. The proposed framework should help decision makers with incorporating sustainability considerations into transportation planning as well as identifying superior plans for predetermined objectives.

Decision making is necessary to provide a synthesis scheme to design activities and identify the most preferred design alternative. There exist several methods that address modeling designer preferences in a graphical manner to aid the decision making process. For instance, the Conjoint Analysis has been proven effective for various multi-attribute design problems by utilizing a ranking- or rating-based approach along with the graphical representation of the designer preference. However, the ranking or rating of design alternatives can be inconsistent from different users and it is often difficult to get customer responses in a timely fashion. The high number of alternative comparisons required for complex engineering problems can be exhausting for the decision maker. In addition, many design objectives can have interdependencies that can increase complexity and uncertainty throughout the decision making process. The uncertainties apparent in the attainment of subjective data as well as with system models can reduce the reliability of decision analysis results. To address these issues, the use of a new technique, the Improved Conjoint Analysis, is proposed to enable the modeling of designer preferences and trade-offs under the consideration of uncertainty. Specifically, a simulation-based ranking scheme is implemented and incorporated into the traditional process of the Conjoint Analysis. The proposed ranking scheme can reduce user fatigue and provide a better schematic decision support process. In addition, the incorporation of uncertainty in the design process provides the capability of producing robust or reliable products. The efficacy and applicability of the proposed framework are demonstrated with the design of a cantilever beam, a power-generating shock absorber, and a mesostructured hydrogen storage tank.

Transportation decision makers are tasked with doing more improvements with less funding, which requires effective tools to assess and predict the outcomes of their choices. The objectives of this research are to explore customer satisfaction in various contexts, assess its application in transportation contexts and develop quantitative, empirically-based tools that improve customer satisfaction in transportation decision making. This research conducted a survey of targeted customer satisfaction practitioners and their planning products and tested the implicit assumption. The findings are significant and contrary to current theory and practice. The results support the hypothesis that the impact of negative performance is different than the impact of positive performance on customer satisfaction in a transportation context. These findings suggest that the relationship is asymmetrical and nonlinear contrary to implicit assumptions of current decision support tools like the Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) matrix. The results also identify that transportation agencies identify quality of life and customer satisfaction as an important goal and measure for their regions. These results suggest that customer satisfaction is a tool in decision making and there is an empirical methodology to accurately assess the relationship of performance to satisfaction that can impact resource decisions in transportation. The results also suggest that customer satisfaction can be used to address issues of social equity and the broader goals of transportation plans.

<p>The main purpose of this thesis is to develop a new model which helps the decision maker to rationalize outsourcing decisions based on Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis and select the appropriate supplier. The model developed consists of four main phases, as well as a pre-evaluating step, which investigate the organization needs and circumstances. Phase I is an evaluation and calculation phase, it assess whether outsourcing is the right policy to be adopted as a competitive advantage from two perspectives; the strategic evaluation of the outsourcing decision, and the cost savings through the life time of the outsourcing process using LCC. Phase II is supplier's selection; it aims to select the preferred supplier using Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM), as well as identifies performance measures to monitor supplier performance. Phase III is maintain and monitor phase, it aims to keep the process and the supplier under continuous revision and assessment. Phase IV is review phase, it aims to identify if a specified monitored parameter is out of control or at critical levels, and identify the causes. This model contribute in covering the lack in the literature by considering LCC in the outsourcing decision making, as well as providing a structured model that concern about the whole process starting by understanding the organizations need and ends by monitoring and review the outsourcing process.</p><p>The model was validated at one Swedish company, i.e. Kalmar Industries in Ljungby assembly unit, in particular, within the maintenance department. The results of the model validation shows that using LCCA, and risk benefits associated, the preferred alternative is to outsource all the maintenance activities related to ventilation system, these activates involve maintenance personnel, spare parts, and third party to monitor and report the process to authorities. Furthermore, based on LCCA and other suggested criteria and using MCDM, ABB Supplier got the lowest score in MCDM i.e. 36.70% (the lowest LCC along with fulfillment of the qualitative criteria).</p><p>The main result is that; it is possible to employ LCCA in the maintenance outsourcing process to achieve a strategic model valid for decisions taking over the life length of the process. Consequently, the main recommendation for the case company is to outsource these activities and to transfer it to ABB service supplier.</p>

The design of an aerospace vehicle system is a complex integration process driven by technological developments, stakeholder and mission needs, cost, and schedule. The vehicle then operates in an equally complex context, dependent on many aspects of the environment, the performance of stakeholders and the quality of the design itself. Satisfying the needs of all stakeholders is a complicated challenge for designers and engineers, and stakeholder requirements are, at times, neglected in design decisions. Thus, it is critical to examine how to better incorporate stakeholder requirements earlier and throughout the design process. The intent of this research is to (1) examine how stakeholder considerations are currently integrated into aerospace vehicle design practice and curricula, (2) design empirically-informed and theoretically-grounded educational interventions for an aerospace design capstone course, and (3) isolate the characteristics of the interventions and learning environment which support students’ integration of stakeholder considerations. The first research phase identified how stakeholder considerations are taken into account within an aerospace vehicle design firm and in current aerospace engineering design curricula. Interviews with aerospace designers revealed six conditions at the group, interaction and individual levels affecting the integration of stakeholder considerations. Examining current curricula, aerospace design education relies on quantitative measures. Thus, many students are not introduced to stakeholder considerations that are challenging to quantify. In addition, at the start of an aerospace engineering senior design capstone course, students were found to have some understanding of the customer and a few contextual considerations, but in general students did not see the impact of the broader context or of stakeholders outside of the customer. The second research phase comprised the design and evaluation of a Requirements Lab and Stakeholders in Design Labs, two in-class interventions implemented in a senior aircraft design capstone course. Further, a Stakeholders in Design rubric was developed to evaluate students’ design understanding and integration of stakeholder considerations and, as such, can be used as a summative assessment tool. The two interventions were evaluated using a multi-level framework to examine student capstone design projects, a written evaluation, and observations of students’ design team meetings. The findings demonstrated an increase in students’ awareness of a diverse group of stakeholders, but also perceptions that students appeared to only integrate stakeholder considerations in cases where interactions with stakeholders were possible and the design requirements had an explicit stakeholder focus. Particular aspects of the aircraft design learning environment such as the lack of explicit stakeholder requirements, the differences between the learning environment in the two semesters of the course, and the availability of tools impacted students’ integration of stakeholder considerations and overall effectiveness of the interventions. This research serves as a starting point for future research in pedagogical techniques and assessment methods for integrating stakeholder requirements into technology-focused design capstone courses. The results can also inform the vehicle design education of students and engineers from other disciplines.