This study examines the three-way interactive effects of organizational commitment¡B perceived environmental uncertainty and the perceived usefulness of the use of management accounting systems (MAS) information on the relationship of managerial performance. In addition, this research supplements the conclusion of Gul(1991), that is, the prospect of perceived environmental uncertainty can moderate the effect of the usefulness of MAS information leading to improved managerial performance was under the premise of managers with high organizational commitment. Our conclusion could also be regarded as the extension of the research of Mia and Chenhall (1994). The results indicate that aggregation characteristic of MAS information is the key characteristic of the interactive effects. The responses of 138 managers, drawn from manufacturing departments of Taiwanese public companies, to a questionnaire survey were analyzed by examining the regression equations for the three-way interaction model.

Risk-based corrective action (RBCA) is rapidly becoming an accepted approach for the remediation of contaminated sites. Under a RBCA approach, the risks to human health and the environment associated with a contaminated site are evaluated and appropriate corrective measures are taken as needed to reduce risk to acceptable levels. A series of standard guides of RBCA have been developed by American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The main task of this study was to conduct a risk assessment at a site contaminated with chlorinated organic compounds. The studied site had a chlorinated organic compound leakage incident, which caused groundwater contamination. The contaminants of concern included trichloroethylene (TCE) and dichloroethylene (DCE). The concentrations of TCE and DCE exceeded the control standards of 0.05 and 0.07 mg/L, respectively. The contamination has a tendency to move downstream along with groundwater. The goals of this study were to: (1) conduct risk assessment at the site, and to evaluate the risk of downstream acceptor; (2) analyze the carcinogenicity risk and the possible pollution transmission pathway to provide the management personnel a basis for future site screening, planning and technical improving; (3) evaluate the effect of natural attenuation (NA) processes on risk reduction; and (4) apply Monte Carlo analysis method to conduct uncertainty analysis at the site. In this study, RBCA Tool Kit for Chemical Release, 1.3 edition established by Groundwater Service, Inc. was applied for risk assessment. Moreover, the health risk assessment stimulation system developed by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration was also applied to conduct risk assessment simulation for comparison. The commercial software @RISK and Microsoft¡¦s EXCEL spreadsheet was used to conduct Monte Carlo analysis to analyze risk probability distribution. Results show that the health risk assessment result has indicated that the main risk at this site was through groundwater exposure pathway. If the biodegradation process occurs, the contaminant plume will be controlled and the risk will be reduced. Thus, the total carcinogenicity risk and hazard index (HI) of the downstream residential area will be reduced to acceptable levels (cancer risk < 1 ¡Ñ10-5, and HI < 1). Results from the Monte Carlo simulation show that the carcinogenic risk is about 6.38¡Ñ10-6 when the accumulation rate is 90% via inhalation. The calculated risk levels are higher than the requirement for minimum target risk level (cancer risk of 1x10-6) described in Taiwan¡¦s ¡§Soil and Groundwater Remediation Act¡¨. Results also show that the hazard index of non-carcinogenic risk is about 3.28 via the route of ingestion, which is higher than the acceptable level of 1. Based on the results of risk assessment, it is very important for the decision makers to incorporate remedial activities including institutional controls, engineering controls, and remediation programs from RBCA results. This study provides a streamlined process and guidelines of developing the risk-based decision-making strategy for contaminated sites in Taiwan.

Predicted cooling system performance plays an important role in choices among alternative system selections and designs. When system performance is expressed in proper indicators such as "overall system energy consumption" or "overall system efficiency", it can provide the decision makers with a quantitative measure of the extent to which a cooling system satisfies the system design requirements and objectives. Predictions of cooling system energy consumption and efficiency imply assumptions about component performance. Quantitative appraisal of the uncertainty (lack of knowledge) in these assumptions can be used by design practitioners to select and design systems, by energy contractors to guarantee future system energy cost savings, and codes and standards officials to set proper goals to conserve energy. Our lack of knowledge has different sources, notably unknown tolerances in equipment nameplate data, and unpredictable load profiles. Both cause systems to under-perform current predictions, and as a result decrease the accuracy of the outcomes of energy simulations that commonly are used to verify system performance during the design and construction stages. There can be many other causes of unpredictable system behavior, for example due to bad workmanship in the installation, occurrence of faults in the operation of certain system parts, deterioration over time and other. These uncertainties are typically much harder to quantify and their propagation into the calculated energy consumption is much harder to accomplish. In this thesis, these categories of failures are not considered, i.e. the treatment is limited to component tolerances and load variability. In this research the effects of equipment nameplate tolerances and cooling load profile variability on the overall energy consumption and efficiency of commonly used commercial cooling systems are quantified. The main target of this thesis is to present a methodology for calculating the chances that a specific cooling system could deviate from a certain efficiency level by a certain margin, and use these results to guide practitioners and energy performance contractors to select, and guarantee system performances more realistically. By doing that, the plan is to establish a systematic approach of developing expressions of risk, in commercial cooling system consumption and efficiency calculations, and thus to advocate the use of expressions of risk as design targets. This thesis makes a contribution to improving our fundamental understanding of performance risk in selecting and sizing certain HVAC design concepts.

<p>The role of purchasing in supply chain management has received and continues to receive increasing attention as the years go by. Purchasing enhances efficiency and competitiveness among other benefits but to realize these benefits it is imperative to select and maintain competent suppliers. However, many factors affect a firm’s ability to choose the right supplier. Uncertainty is an issue that has received great attention. It affects all functions of a company consequently affecting purchasing and supplier selection. This thesis seeks to provide an understanding of the supplier selection process and criteria under circumstances of uncertainty in the case where the potential supplier under evaluation is a newly created company. The authors try to find out if uncertainty varies with firm’s age and tested the suitability of existing criteria on the selection of newly created firms. They also sought ways by which uncertainty can be reduced.One of the realisations of this thesis is that there is a relationship between the characteristics or problems faced by new firms and uncertainty. Uncertainties created by new firms include lack of trust and commitment, inadequate finance, poor quality, unreliable delivery times, inadequate logistic technological capabilities. No new types or sources of uncertainty were discovered however, it was found that uncertainty was certainly higher when working with new firms. The criteria delivery, quality, cost/price, financial position and communication and technology were recognized as the commonly used criteria a fact confirmed from empirical results as well as in previous literature. However other criteria such as ISO certification, reliability, credibility, good references and product development were also identified. These criteria had existed before but did not receive the same attention in previous studies. This show that focus is shifting from solely relying on quantitative factors to include qualitative criteria. The study identified that some methods of minimising uncertainty could include detailed financial analyses, site visit, intensive verification, close relationships, ISO certification, good references and recommendations. It is worth noting that uncertainty cannot be entirely eliminated in all situations</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2009. / Open access. Includes bibliographical references (p. 142-149). Print copy also available.

Thesis (Ph. D.) in Spatial Information Science and Engineering--University of Maine, 2001. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-132).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 24). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 24). Also available on the Internet.

When aggressive aircraft performance goals are set, he integration of new, advanced technologies into next generation aircraft concepts is required to bridge the gap between current capabilities and required capabilities. A large number of technologies exists that can be pursued, and only a subset may practically be selected to reach the chosen objectives. Additionally, the appropriate numerical and physical experimentation must be identified to further develop the selected technologies. These decisions must be made under a large amount of uncertainty because developing technologies introduce phenomena that have not been previously characterized. Traditionally, technology selection decisions are made based on deterministic performance assessments that do not capture the uncertainty of the technology impacts. Model-driven environments and new, advanced uncertainty quantification techniques provide the ability to characterize technology impact uncertainties and pinpoint how they are driving the system performance, which will aid technology selection decisions. Moreover, the probabilistic assessments can be used to plan experimentation that facilitates uncertainty reduction by targeting uncertainty sources with large performance impacts. The thesis formulates and implements a process that allows for risk-informed decision making throughout technology development. It focuses on quantifying technology readiness risk and performance risk by synthesizing quantitative, probabilistic performance information with qualitative readiness assessments. The Quantitative Uncertainty Modeling, Management, and Mitigation (QuantUM3) methodology was tested through the use of an environmentally-motivated aircraft design case study based upon NASAs Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) technology development program. A physics-based aircraft design environment was created that has the ability to provide quantitative system-level performance assessments and was employed to model the technology impacts as probability distributions to facilitate the development of an overall process required to enable risk-informed technology and experimentation decisions. The outcome of the experimental e orts was a detailed outline of the entire methodology and a confirmation that the methodology enables risk-informed technology development decisions with respect to both readiness risk and performance risk. Furthermore, a new process for communicating technology readiness through morphological analysis was created as well as an experiment design process that utilizes the readiness information and quantitative uncertainty analysis to simultaneously increase readiness and decrease technology performance uncertainty.

Background: Breast cancer and its treatment often result in side effects that persist long after treatment has ended. The increased survival rate for breast cancer has allowed for the study of the physical and psychosocial symptoms that persist into the post-treatment period. Although research has tested various interventions and demonstrated improvement in some symptoms, no standard of care exists for management of symptoms in the post- treatment period as part of the continuum of care.Objective: The aim of this research was to examine the effects of a comprehensive recovery program of education, exercise, and support for breast cancer survivors and to compare the results to a control group.Method: This experimental study used a convenience sample of 17 women who participated in a structured breast cancer recovery program over a 10-week period, and compared them to a control group of 13 survivors who did not participate in a structured program over a 10- week period. Data were collected on demographic and personal characteristics, extent of disease, and type of treatment. The two subject groups were compared on their self-report responses of physical and social functioning as measured by the SF-36[copyright], their level of distress from fatigue as measured by the Cancer Fatigue Related Distress Scale, and their degree of uncertainty as measured by the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale. The subjects completed these self-reports at three time points: week 1, week 5, and week 10.Results: There were no significant demographic differences between the experimental and the control group. Repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated significant differences over time in the experimental group on all measures, except for the physical functioning scale which was approaching significance at p=.06, but no significant differences over time in the control group on any of the measures.