This research provides performance metrics for cooperative research centers that enhance translational research formed by the partnership of government, industry and academia. Centers are part of complex ecosystems that vary greatly in the type of science conducted, organizational structures and expected outcomes. The ability to realize their objectives depends on transparent measurement systems to assist in decision making in research translation. A generalizable, hierarchical decision model that uses both quantitative and qualitative metrics is developed based upon program goals. Mission-oriented metrics are used to compare the effectiveness of the cooperative research centers through case studies. The US National Science Foundation (NSF) industry university cooperative research center (IUCRC) program is the domain of organizational effectiveness because of its longevity, clear organizational structure, repeated use and availability of data. Not unlike a franchise business model, the program has been replicated numerous times gaining recognition as one of the most successful federally funded collaborative research center (CRC) programs. Understanding IUCRCs is important because they are a key US policy lever for enhancing translational research. While the program model is somewhat unique, the research project begins to close the gap for comparing CRCs by introducing a generalizable model and method into the literature stream. Through a literature review, program objectives, goals, and outputs are linked together to construct a four-level hierarchical decision model (HDM). A structured model development process shows how experts validate the content and construct of the model using these linked concepts. A subjective data collection approach is discussed showing how collection, analysis and quantification of expert pair-wise-comparison data is used to establish weights for each of the decision criteria. Several methods are discussed showing how inconsistency and disagreement are measured and analyzed until acceptable levels are reached. Six case studies are used to compare results, evaluate the impact of expert disagreement and conduct criterion-related validity. Comparative analysis demonstrates the ability of the model to efficiently ascertain criteria that are relatively more important towards each center's performance score. Applying this information, specific performance improvement recommendations for each center are presented. Upon review, experts generally agreed with the results. Criterion-related validity discusses how the performance measurement scoring system can be used for comparative analysis among science and engineering focused research centers. Dendrograms highlight where experts disagree and provide a method for further disagreement analysis. Judgment quantification values for different expert clusters are substituted into the model one-at-a-time (OAT) providing a method to analyze how changes in decisions based on these disagreements impact the results of the model's output. This research project contributes to the field by introducing a generalizable model and measurement system that compares performance of NSF supported science and engineering focused research centers.

Orientador: Maria Conceição da Costa / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociências / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-26T10:51:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Spiess_MaikoRafael_D.pdf: 7162626 bytes, checksum: e20fb30667b4b094b76a74bef9e3ac60 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Resumo: Este trabalho trata das origens sociais e técnicas dos riscos para as doenças cardiovasculares e de sua relação com a alimentação nas sociedades contemporâneas. Em particular, analisa a trajetória histórica e os aspectos sociotécnicos do influente Framingham Heart Study, uma pesquisa epidemiológica conduzida há mais de seis décadas nos Estados Unidos, voltada para a compreensão das doenças cardiovasculares e seus fatores de risco. A partir da perspectiva da Teoria Ator-Rede, a tese demonstra o processo de determinação mútua entre o contexto social e conteúdo da ciência relacionado às doenças cardiovasculares produzida pelos pesquisadores de Framingham, desde o final da década de 1940. Metodologicamente, baseou-se em métodos de pesquisa histórica, documental e entrevistas realizadas entre os anos de 2012 e 2013, nos Estados Unidos. O primeiro capítulo apresenta uma discussão ampla sobre os riscos alimentares, as recomendações governamentais oficiais e a crescente importância do discurso científico sobre o assunto. O segundo capítulo apresenta um levantamento histórico sobre a trajetória do estudo de Framingham. O terceiro capítulo propõe um modelo de antecedentes sociotécnicos para o estudo epidemiológico em questão, apresentando as condições e elementos contextuais que possibilitaram seu surgimento e determinaram suas características. De forma complementar, o quarto capítulo descreve a construção da credibilidade do estudo e sua influência nas percepções contemporâneas sobre os fatores de risco, colesterol e doenças cardiovasculares. Dessa forma, a tese apresenta uma discussão crítica sobre as formas contemporâneas de compreensão a respeito dos temas do risco, saúde e doença, doenças cardíacas e alimentação, demonstrando o caráter intrinsecamente social do Framingham Heart Study e dos enunciados de risco produzidos pela epidemiologia / Abstract: This doctoral thesis deals with the social and technical background of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and their relation to diet in contemporary societies. In particular, it analyzes the historical trajectory and socio-technical aspects of the influential Framingham Heart Study -- an epidemiological research conducted for more than six decades in the United States with the objective of understanding cardiovascular diseases and their risk factors. From the perspective of Actor-Network Theory it demonstrates the process of mutual determination between the social context and the science related to cardiovascular diseases produced by Framingham researchers since the late 1940s. Methodologically, it was guided by historical and documentary methods, and interviews conducted between the years 2012 and 2013 in the United States. The first chapter presents an extensive discussion on health risks, official dietary guidelines and the growing importance of scientific discourse on the subject. The second chapter presents a historical review of the history of the Framingham Study. The third chapter proposes a model of socio-technical background for that epidemiological study, highlighting the conditions and contextual factors that led to its emergence and helped determining its characteristics. The fourth chapter describes the construction of the credibility of the study and its influence on contemporary perceptions about the risk factors, cholesterol and cardiovascular disease. Thus, the doctoral dissertation presents a critical discussion on contemporary forms of understanding risk, health, disease, and the relation between heart disease and diet, while demonstrating the inherently social nature of the Framingham Heart Study and the risk statements produced by epidemiology / Doutorado / Politica Cientifica e Tecnologica / Doutor em Política Científica e Tecnológica

This dissertation aims to provide a better understanding of the technology licensing practices of academic research institutions. The study identifies time durations in licensing and incorporates these into a model to evaluate licensing performance. Performance is measured by the efficiency of an institution's technology licensing process and efficiency changes over time, using Association of University Technology Managers annual survey data from 1991 to 2007. Organizational characteristics influencing the licensing performances of 46 U.S. research institutions also are explored. The study resulted in a new approach that integrates the identification of time lags in licensing, analysis of efficiency change, and exploration of the influence of organizational characteristics on efficiency change. A super-efficiency variable returns to scale data envelopment analysis (DEA) model was applied to the time-lag neutralized licensing data, to measure the efficiency of U.S. research institutions' licensing performance over time. The study also includes an innovative approach to resolving issues with the super-efficiency DEA model, including mathematical infeasibility and zero-data issues. The licensing mechanisms included in the study are disclosure, patent applications, patents issued, licenses and options executed, start-ups, and licensing income. The time duration from expenditure to licensing income, including all intermediating licensing processes, ranged from 2 to 27 years. The study identified the organizational characteristics related to licensing practice. Academic prestige and research quality are positively related to disclosure, patents granted, and start-up. The resources of a technology licensing office influences the number of licensing agreements, whereas licensing office experience has a positive relationship with start-ups. Increased licensing resources improve the efficiency of licensing practices, and a research institution with more dedicated licensing staff has improved licensing productivity. Private institutions improved their licensing practice more than public ones during the study period. On the other hand, institutions with a medical school demonstrated low efficiency. This dissertation fills a gap in the understanding of licensing practice and the organizational characteristics related to licensing performance. In addition, the study contributes to research methodology by providing a new approach to identifying time lags and improving the DEA method. The results, grounded in comprehensive observations over multiple time durations, provide an insight into the licensing practices of U.S. research institutions. The dissertation presents recommendations for research institutions based on the relationships identified among academic prestige, research intensity, organizational characteristics of the technology licensing office, and licensing performance.

<i>"Whoever attempts to solve the riddle of space in the abstract will construct the outline of emptiness and call it space. Whoever attempts to meet man in the abstract will speak with his echo and call this a dialogue. Man still breathes in and out. When is Architecture going to do the same?"</i>¹ In order to develop a language in architecture, an architect spends a lifetime building and refining the grammar and expressions he or she uses. With study and an understanding of place, one can use architectural language to develop a dialogue with place. Without dialogue the architecture is empty. This interpretation of Aldo Van Eyck's statement is a beginning for this effort in design. The site, the "place," was chosen first for values which make it unique, and the project and its program were developed later. The observation of place extended from the physical environment, its history, and culture, to other aspects which make up the "spirit of place," as described by Christian Norberg-Schulz. The attempt was then to design in relation to aspects which I felt were important to the place, to create a dialogue. / Master of Architecture

The Washington, D.C. Center for Filmmaking is placed in the middle of a growing area of different uses, on the block bordered by 8th, 9th G and H streets. Across G street, the old Patent Office now houses the national Museum of American Art and the National Portrait Gallery. Churches, schools, and other buildings for study exist in the blocks directly surrounding the proposed buildings and the Martin Luther King Library. The Washington Convention Center and Techworld allow space for large exhibitions and trade shows. Also, office space and the shops and restaurants of Chinatown are just one block east. Access to the site by Metro is across G street at the Gallery Pace Metro stop. The Center for Filmmaking addresses the street with commercial store-fronts of shops or restaurants, accessible from the street as well as from the interior gathering space. The building attempts to embrace the framework of the city openly. The main entry into the gathering space is off the major street of the site, 9th Street. Service access is off of the least traveled street, 8th Street. / Master of Architecture

Columns and walls are reinvented in my experience while pursuing the project. It is my belief that architecture should be reinvented every time a building is designed and built. / Master of Architecture

The relationship of building to site is the most fundamental aspect in the creation of architecture. As man is a product of nature and his environment the way in which he chooses to after that environment in the process of building reveals not only his attitude towards his physical surroundings, but his purpose and justification for dwelling there. Not all attitudes will be the same, just as purpose will vary from person to person and structure to structure. Mario Botta has said, “The first step in the architectural act is taking possession of the site. It is a conscious act of transforming a unicum, an awareness that grounds the new intervention in the geography, history, and culture of a particular site. The architecture is the constriction of this site. There can be no indifference toward the site. It is the very territory of architecture as well as the primary condition determining the laws by which one must build.” Within the scope of my project I hoped to define this awareness within myself, this conscious act of defining and creating architecture against a background that demands the site be recognized as a primary generator of architectural form and attitude. / Master of Architecture

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

The purpose of this study was to explore the practices and processes executed by middle managers as practitioners during the implementation of strategy. In order to do that, this study investigated the problem of strategy implementation, analysed existing literature, identified the gaps, and explored the roles of middle managers in terms of strategy practices and processes, specifically in the South African Defence Evaluation and Research Institutes (DERI) context. Resources, time and effort are applied to formulating strategy but less of these to the execution of the strategy which includes the emotions, motivations and actions that are intangible during the implementation of strategy. The study therefore attempts to answer the following research question: What practices and processes are employed in strategy implementation in DERIs in South Africa? The literature study was undertaken with the objective of mapping the research problem and to highlight, through critical discussion, the latest work done on the subject of this study. The gap in relation to research work was identified and the contribution is clear that not much work has been done in this environment. Research is a systematic process where information on a specific topic is gathered in order to increase understanding of that phenomenon. A qualitative study was performed and data was obtained from several institutes through interviews, documents and questionnaires in order to build a rich database that could be analysed for the required output. Engagement with the first level of management as well as the next level management teams ensured that a representative population group was used during this study. The data was organised, categorised, interpreted, identified, synthesised and generalised. The quotations identified from the text were coded through inductive coding and grouped into categories until a logical theme, category and concept was formed. The objective of this research was to investigate, identify and understand what the strategy practices and processes are that make highly technical and scientific institutes execute strategies successfully. The study provided insight into and clarity on the complexity of the strategy implementation process as executed by middle managers, particularly in the South African context. The link was explored between formulation and implementation as applied by middle managers as practitioners and the practices and processes in use were identified. It was demonstrated that the outcome of this research is applicable to the research problem and also provides an understanding of the phenomenon, namely strategy practices and processes in use at the Defence Evaluation and Research Institutes. It can therefore be concluded that the research objective was achieved. / Business Management / D.B.L.