MSc(Eng),School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, 2010 / This dissertation presents a new method for the automated optimisation of structures. The method has been developed to: (1) select sections to satisfy strength and deflection requirements using minimum material, and (2) efficiently group members. The member selection method is based on the principle of virtual work, and is called the Virtual Work Optimisation (VWO) method. It addresses multiple deflection and load case constraints simultaneously. The method determines which sections provide the highest deflection and strength resistance per unit mass. When compared to several other methods in the literature, and designs from industry, the VWO method produced savings of up to 15.1%. A parametric investigation of ungrouped, multi-storey frames is conducted using the VWO method to determine optimal mass and stiffness distributions. Unusual mass patterns have been found. Diagonal paths of increased stiffness are formed in the frames, which suggests truss behaviour. A grouping algorithm is presented which determines how efficiently to create a specified number of groups in a structure. The VWO method has been incorporated into the automated algorithm to optimise the grouped structures. Members are grouped according to their mass per unit length. In the algorithm an exhaustive search of all feasible grouping permutations is carried out, and the lightest structure selected. Results produced are up to 5.9% lighter than those obtained using ad hoc grouping configurations found in the literature and based on experience.

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2002. / Field problem. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Washington State University. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2011. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-133). Also available on the World Wide Web.

M.Comm. / The discipline of management, denoting the concepts of management and leadership, has been deliberated in boundless number of books, magazines and journals over the years. Some views are that there is a distinction between management and leaders, whilst others vehemently argue that there is no difference between the two terms, and use them synonymously. Leadership is the nucleus of all organisations. Moreover, sustained performance, competitive advantage and success, depends both on effective leadership, as well as committed followers.The literature study undertaken discovered writings confirming the distinctions between the terms groups and teams: groups may fall inside or outside the boundaries of an organisation, such as social groups, whereas teams (in their various forms) are generally referred to in the context of "working teams" in an organisation. Teams may be formed from groups, subsequent to their maturity. In many instances, the usage of the terms "groups" and "teams", are also used interchangeably.

M.Phil. / This dissertation provides a study of Virtual Teams and possible ways of predicting their effectiveness. The motivation for carrying out this study was to discover if there was a way of quantifying why Virtual Teams used in a particular company was proving to be very effective. A brief literature study of the topic of Virtual Teams and Virtual Team communication is given, as well as an overview of different Communication Models. A case study is made of the particular company (called DevCo Software Development as a pseudonym for the sake of confidentiality). The case study presents the results of two online surveys. One survey sent to all the employees within the Labs Department and another sent to only the Virtual Team members of a specific Virtual Team within the Labs Department. The case study concludes with an analysis of the company culture and the effect it appears to have on the way the employees use technology and the effect of this on Virtual Team success.

Virtual collaboration-the act of working together across boundaries of space, time, and organization, aided by technology-has become increasingly commonplace in recent years. Doing so, however, presents a number of challenges to those involved. One of these is that because of a lack of experience in collaborating through computer-based collaboration systems, there is little knowledge on how to carry out collaboration virtually. Another is that it is not easy for those not directly involved in the collaboration to know what is, and has been, 'going on' during virtual collaboration. This thesis suggests that both of these challenges can be addressed with the same approach, namely by referring to observations of virtual collaboration. The problem then is how such observations of virtual collaboration can be obtained without requiring those involved in it to document their own actions. To address this problem is the objective of this thesis. The approach proposed here involves three elements: firstly, the collection of data about virtual collaboration; secondly, the modeling of this data; and thirdly, the derivation of increasingly abstract, larger-scale representations of virtual collaboration from this data. These representations are termed patterns of virtual collaboration, which are abstract descriptions of activities of virtual collaboration. A multi-layered conceptual model of information, the Information Pyramid of Virtual Collaboration, is proposed, providing different views of information related to virtual collaboration, at different levels of abstraction. The thesis then suggests how from a given body of data, patterns of virtual collaboration at a corresponding level of the Information Pyramid can be extracted, and how from collections of such patterns more abstract patterns of larger-scale activity can be derived, providing the observations of virtual collaboration sought. In considering how the extraction of patterns of virtual collaboration fits into the larger context of the conception, design, and use of collaboration systems, a Framework for Pattern Extraction and Feedback is proposed. This framework introduces the notion of collaboration memory, a type of organizational memory that contains records of collaborative activity. Moreover, the framework suggests how extracted patterns of virtual collaboration feed back into both ongoing development and use of collaboration systems. Finally, the modeling and extraction of patterns of virtual collaboration is illustrated in a case study involving the LIVENET collaboration system.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 229-242). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Supervisor: Sirkka Jarvenpaa. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available from UMI.

Thesis (M.S. in Modeling, Virtual Environments, and Simulation)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2004. / Thesis advisor(s): Rudolph P. Darken, Susan G. Hutchins. Includes bibliographical references (p. 167-168). Also available online.