Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2008. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-76). / This thesis contrasts the quantification of avoided emission benefits of renewable generation as determined by a marginal emissions analysis and the methodology specified by the Massachusetts Greenhouse Gas Policy and Protocol. Both methodologies are applied to an offshore wind installation that is currently being proposed by the Town of Hull, Massachusetts. The key finding is that the Massachusetts Greenhouse Gas Policy undercounts the avoided emissions benefits of the proposed installation by a range of 30%-50%, depending on the emission. Finally, the policy implications of this finding is explored and expounded upon. / Tarek Rached. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2008. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-131). / Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is a delivery system for public works projects to design construct, manage and maintain public facilities by using private capital, management skills, and technical abilities. It was introduced in Japan about 10 years ago to encourage the stagnant Japanese economy and provide public services with higher quality and less cost to the country and the local authority. It has been applied to many public works projects, but not to large-scale infrastructure projects, such as toll road and airport projects. One of the main reasons for this is that specific methodologies of handling risks and uncertainties involved in long-term projects have not been introduced and demonstrated to either the public or the private sector. This thesis aims to help those involved in large-scale infrastructure development projects apply PFI to those projects by proposing a flexible methodology that will allow them to handle risks. Specifically, this thesis 1) proposes a quantitative methodology so that project managers can handle uncertainty in large-scale engineering projects, and 2) demonstrates how project managers can apply the proposed methodology practically to real-world projects, including how to model and evaluate projects, and demonstrates how the proposed methodology is useful for reducing risks and enhancing the value of projects. As a quantitative methodology, this thesis proposes real options analysis as a tool for considering uncertainty and incorporating flexibility into design, based on the premise that it is crucial not how accurately project managers forecast uncertainty but how they can handle it. This thesis also explains barriers to the implementation of the proposed concepts and methodology, and recommends how to alleviate them. The thesis uses two real-world case studies: the "Tokyo International Airport New Runway Extension Project" and the "Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line Project". / (cont.) Both show the process of modeling and analyzing projects and they demonstrate the benefits of the proposed concepts and methodologies, which can guide and encourage project managers to apply proposed concepts and methodology. The first case study applies a user-friendly methodology, which can alleviate the barriers to the implementation of the proposed concepts. The second case study illustrates that, by using their management skills, ingenuity, and originality, in PFI, project companies can not only reduce risks and enhance the value of projects but also contribute to the consumers' benefits and socioeconomics from the perspective of public policy, which realizes the idea of PFI. / by Dai Ohama. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 168-176). / Nations seek to influence the technology decisions of multi national firms producing within their borders for many reasons. These reasons range from a nation's desires to maximize its competitiveness in the global marketplace to a nation's desire to improve the social welfare of its citizens. Alone by understanding the forces driving multinationals decisions, can nations develop means to impact those decisions. Market supply, market demand, individual interests, group interests and government policy all affect the technological decisions of firms' managers and engineers. This work models the cost of automotive body in-white production in the United States versus the People's Republic of China. Three body-in-white materials are evaluated for each country: carbon-reinforced composites, glass-reinforced composites, and steel. Based on the results, insights are sought on the significance of production costs versus other factors in driving the extent of composite body-in-white vehicle production in China versus in the U.S. Composite body-in-whites are, according to the results of this thesis, produced less frequently in both the U.S. and China than would optimize manufacturing costs. Composites have a production cost advantage over steel for more U.S. scenarios; however,interest in composite body-in-whites is greater in China. Several qualities of the Chinese market help explain this dichotomy between production cost implications and in-country actions. Concerns of part tolerances, surface appearance, worker safety during processing, and· legal ramifications of non-conventional crash mechanisms do not hold the same weight in China as they do in the U.S. Greenfield investment opportunities are many in China, and China is known for a willingness to experiment. In contrast, the U.S. auto industry is plagued with embedded capital costs and powerful stakeholders in association with steel. The interests of firms, nations, and individuals do not always overlap. The results of this thesis, however, suggest that it would be in the interest of all for greater investment to be made in composite body-in-white production in the U.S., and for experimentation in composite body-in-white production to continue to be encouraged in China. / by Erica R.H. Fuchs. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Technology and Policy Program, 1999. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-105). / by David I. Lackner. / S.M.

Thesis: S.M.M.O.T., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 1999 / Vita. / Includes bibliographical references. / by William L. Indest. / S.M.M.O.T. / S.M.M.O.T. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Technology and Policy Program, 2003 / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-86). / Farnaz Saboori Haghseta. / S.M. / S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Technology and Policy Program

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2004. / Page 145 blank. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 140-144). / "Intellectual capital" has been heralded in business journals as an important component for successful business development in today's economy. Intellectual capital consists of knowledge-based assets -- including people, relationships, tools, and processes - that create value for a firm and its clients. Previous research has emphasized the financial measurement of intellectual capital, including the valuation of corporate intangible assets and the difference between a firm's market value and book value. Unfortunately, these financial measures are not very useful to practitioners, as they provide few insights about how to allocate resources, improve operations, or strategically plan for future needs. In this research, a new conceptual framework is developed for understanding the role of intellectual capital in new product development. The framework develops a dynamic model of the three forms of intellectual capital - human capital, structural capital, and relational capital -- and identifies mechanisms for knowledge transfer, organizational learning, and value creation. The framework is bolstered by data from case studies of seven product development projects at different U.S. aerospace firms. / (cont.) Using the concept of intellectual capital as a "lens", the case studies are comparatively analyzed to identify critical knowledge-based resources and capabilities that are used in the development of complex products and services. The studies suggest that a balanced portfolio of intellectual capital can create unique capabilities that lead to competitive advantage and differentiated performance. The analysis culminates in a self-assessment tool that managers can use to measure and assess the health of their intellectual capital base. In addition to providing management tools, the research has implications for U.S. aerospace policy, as well as the funding of further research into the role of corporate knowledge in today's information economy. / by Lawrence R. Siegel. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Technology and Policy Program, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 177-184). / by Donald Quinn O'Sullivan. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 237-240). / by Joshua B. McConnell. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-103). / Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology has the potential to enable large reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions, but one of the unanswered questions about CCS is whether it will be accepted by the public. In the past, construction of large facilities such as nuclear power plants has been prevented or delayed by public opposition, and CCS proponents would like to know whether it will provoke similar public opposition. Since the Geologic Storage (GS) component of the CCS architecture has not been widely deployed, this thesis explores the characteristics of GS and how they might affect public perception and acceptance of the larger CCS architecture. To provide insight regarding public acceptance of CCS, this thesis addresses two questions; first asking how GS is likely to be perceived by the public and what can be done to improve that perception, and second asking whether financial compensation can be used to improve public acceptance of energy facilities. To address the first question about the public perception of GS, this thesis begins with a discussion of risk concepts and how it is used differently by experts, who use a realist perspective, and the general public, who use a social constructivist perspective. / (cont.) After discussing how this difference in perspective leads to risk disputes, this thesis presents an overview of the risk elements of GS. It then reviews existing risk assessments of GS and qualitatively evaluates the risks of GS in terms of their likelihood, impact, and uncertainty. The discussion on risk assessment perspectives and methods is then integrated with the GS risk review to forecast whether GS is likely to be accepted by the public. By using a public perspective to compare GS to existing energy technologies, this thesis concludes that the risks of GS are likely to eventually be considered no worse than existing fossil fuel energy technologies. However, since GS is a new technology with little public awareness, additional demonstrations and field tests will be necessary to make this case to the public. To address the question of whether financial compensation can be used to improve public acceptance of energy facilities, this thesis presents analyses of data from a public opinion poll on compensation and facility siting. Survey respondents were asked whether they would accept the construction of a natural gas pipeline, nuclear power plant, or coal fired power plant near their home if they were given annual payments of $100. / (cont.) The compensation offers had little net effect on the public's willingness to accept the facilities, and the survey results do not support the use of compensation to improve public acceptance of energy facilities. By investigating public risk perception and GS risk assessments, this thesis concludes that 1) full-scale demonstrations of GS will be needed to convince the public that the technology is safe and 2) that financial compensation is ineffective for improving public opinion. / by Gregory R. Singleton. / S.M.