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<p dir="ltr">This dissertation presents decentralized and agent-based solutions for organizing machine learning resources, such as datasets and learning models. It aims to democratize the analysis of these resources through a simple yet flexible query structure, automate common ML tasks such as training, testing, model selection, and hyperparameter tuning, and enable privacy-centric building of ML models over distributed datasets. Based on networked multi-agent systems, the proposed approach represents ML resources as autonomous and self-reliant entities. This representation makes the resources easily movable, scalable, and independent of geographical locations, alleviating the need for centralized control and management units. Additionally, as all machine learning and data mining tasks are conducted near their resources, providers can apply customized rules independently of other parts of the system. </p><p><br></p>

I designed an explanatory sequential mixed-method study to explore the relationship between leadership practices, collective teacher efficacy (CTE), and educational outcomes of low SES students in an open school system. Four data sources were analyzed: K-5 student Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) results of 1,170 students, Collective Teacher Belief Scale (CTBS) survey to measure CTE perceptions of 48 teachers, focus group interviews composed of a stratified sample of 11 K-5 teachers, and two one-on-one principal interviews. The study took place in two elementary schools in north Texas during the 2020-2021 school year. A Spearman's rank-order correlation analysis indicated that the relationship between CTBS scores and student reading scores was mixed. While one school showed a positive association between CTE and the reading data of low SES students, the other school showed a weak correlation between the variables. The quantitative data indicated that CTBS scores did not independently explain reading achievements at both campuses. The data also showed that while teachers had a large effect size on the reading performance of low SES students, as measured through a Cohen's d for paired sample t-test, achievement gaps continued to widen. Two themes emerged through a grounded theory approach when principals described their sensemaking and framing process: many variables and teamwork. In a complex open system, school principals must consider the many needs of teachers and students before enacting reform efforts. To achieve ambitious goals, school principals promote teamwork and help develop supportive structures to assist teachers and students. Furthermore, the theme of support emerged when teachers described their CTE perceptions concerning their principal's leadership actions. The overall data suggest that leadership practices directly impact CTE levels and indirectly impact student performance. When teachers felt supported, CTE levels increased, but when teachers felt overwhelmed or failed to see how school and district mandates support teaching and learning efforts, CTE levels dropped.

Introduction This thesis describes a research study designed to examine the consequences of disability arising out of spinal cord compression secondary to cancer, and to examine the rehabilitation services available to patients. Research aims and questions The study was intended to achieve the following: 1. To ascertain what might constitute effective rehabilitation interventions for patients with metastatic spinal cord compression. 2. To identify the conditions in which these intervention might be delivered. 3. To ground proposals in spinal cord compression patients’ experience of disability. The following research questions were posed: 1. What are the consequences of disability for patients with metastatic spinal cord compression? 2. What strategies do patients themselves use to manage disability? 3. What do health care staff, particularly rehabilitation professionals, understand to be the consequences of disability for this patient group, and correspondingly, what are their views on the significance and provision of rehabilitation? 4. To what extent is rehabilitation being provided to these patients, and with what effect? 5. Where rehabilitation is not being provided, why is this the case? Study design The study had two components: • A series of nine in-depth interview-based case studies, which involved talking to patients about their experiences of living with spinal cord compression, as well as gaining the perspectives of family members and the health professionals who provided care and services. • A retrospective audit of the medical records of 73 spinal cord compression patients admitted to a radiotherapy in-patient unit (the Frank Ellis Unit at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford) over a two year period (July 2003 – June 2005), identifying disability-related problems and the measures taken to address them. This was a Phase I modelling study in terms of the Medical Research Council’s framework for evaluating complex interventions, with Pawson and Tilley’s (1997) Context-Mechanism-Outcome configuration adopted as a conceptual basis for data collection. Within-case analysis was informed by George and Bennett’s (2004) account of process tracing, and between-case analysis was modelled on the constant comparative method of Glaser and Strauss (1967) with an analysis of narrative as a variation on that theme. Results Disability is a serious problem for patients with spinal cord compression, but it is one problem among many others, not the least of which are the physical and emotional consequences of life-threatening illness. In response to disability, patients ‘twin-track’ their attitudes to it, acknowledging but also resisting the idea of themselves as disabled, and adopting a series of psychological devices to manage the tension. In effect, patients recognise that something significant has changed and that, as a consequence, new self-management skills must be learned, functional boundaries must be explored, useful information must be sought. At the same time, they display a determination to hold on to an established identity, associated with a sense of normality. This identity embraces the idea of competence and resourcefulness, the events, activities and pleasures that one looks forward to, and the wish to avoid burdening others. It is not a ‘disabled’ identity. To some extent, these two attitudes are in tension, as one acknowledges disability while the other, implicitly or explicitly, resists it. Consequently, patients try to find ways of resolving this tension, by ‘revising downwards’ their expectations, by constantly deferring the anticipated pleasures, and by avoiding situations in which their abilities might be put to the test, or the sense of normality be disconfirmed. Health care professionals are likely to construe the patient’s response as indicative of a certain type of character – ‘realistic’ on one hand, and ‘unrealistic’ on the other. They do not see ‘acknowledging / not acknowledging’ as twin facets of a complex response to circumstances, or as something which every patient engages in to one degree or another. Patients are motivated not to recognise rehabilitation as something they need, a view which is confirmed by the cursory form of rehabilitation experienced in hospital, and by the marginal significance attributed to it by nursing and medical staff. On discharge, hospital staff assume that rehabilitation needs will be identified in the community, although the way in which community rehabilitation services are organised virtually guarantees that this will not happen, unless a specific referral is made (as it is in only 5% of cases). The patient, meanwhile, remains unaware of the potential value of rehabilitation, and has no incentive to request rehabilitation if no-one offers it. They are consequently unprepared for life post-discharge, and assume that they (and their families) must manage on their own. Conclusions Like the patients, health care professionals may have to ‘twin-track’ if they are to provide rehabilitation in a way that is acceptable to patients with metastatic spinal cord compression. Instead of categorising patients as ‘realistic’ or ‘unrealistic’, they should work towards sustaining patients’ ‘positive illusions’, while at the same time taking whatever opportunities arise to enhance the patient’s day-to-day ability to function in a ‘safe’ space. This entails revising some deeply entrenched ideas about working with patients who have a disability: patient-centredness, the importance of goal setting, and the need for adjustment.

This work focuses on the need for new knowledge to allow hierarchical multi-project management to be conducted in the construction industry, which is characterised by high uncertainty, fragmentation, complex decisions, dynamic changes and long-distance communication. A dynamic integrated project management approach is required at strategic, tactical and operational levels in order to achieve adaptability. The work sees the multi-project planning and control problem in the context of supply chain management at main contractor companies. A portfolio manager must select and prioritise the projects, bid and negotiate with a wide range of clients, while project managers are dealing with subcontractors, suppliers, etc whose relationships and collaborations are critical to the optimisation of schedules in which time, cost and safety (etc) criteria must be achieved. Literature review and case studies were used to investigate existing approaches to hierarchical multi-project management, to identify the relationships and interactions between the parties concerned, and to investigate the possibilities for integration. A system framework was developed using a multi-agent-system architecture and utilising procedures adapted from literature to deal with short, medium and long-term planning. The framework is based on in-depth case study and integrates time-cost trade-off for project optimisation with multi-attribute utility theory to facilitate project scheduling, subcontractor selection and bid negotiation at the single project level. In addition, at the enterprise level, key performance indicator rule models are devised to align enterprise supply chain configuration (strategic decision) with bid selection and bid preparation/negotiation (tactical decision) and project supply chain selection (operational decision). Across the hierarchical framework the required quantitative and qualitative methods are integrated for project scheduling, risk assessment and subcontractor evaluation. Thus, experience sharing and knowledge management facilitate project planning across the scattered construction sites. The mathematical aspects were verified using real data from in-depth case study and a test case. The correctness, usefulness and applicability of the framework for users was assessed by creating a prototype Multi Agent System-Decision Support System (MAS-DSS) which was evaluated empirically with four case studies in national, international, large and small companies. The positive feedback from these cases indicates strong acceptance of the framework by experienced practitioners. It provides an original contribution to the literature on planning and supply chain management by integrating a practical solution for the dynamic and uncertain complex multi-project environment of the construction industry.

As a consequence of global environmental change, sustainable management and governance of natural resources face critical challenges, such as dealing with non-linear dynamics, increased resource variability, and uncertainty. This thesis seeks to address some of these challenges by using simulation models. The first line of research focuses on the use of learning-by-doing (LBD) for managing a renewable resource, exemplified by a fish stock, and explores LBD in a theoretical model using artificial intelligence (Paper I and II). The second line of research focuses on the emergence of different forms of self-governance and their interrelation with the dynamics of trust among fishers when harvesting a shared resource, using an agent-based model. This model is informed by qualitative data based on small-scale fisheries in Mexico (Paper III and IV). Paper I and II find that the most sustainable harvesting strategy requires that the actor values current and future yields equally, cautiously experiments around what is perceived as the best harvest action, and rapidly updates its ‘mental model’ to any perceived change in catch. More specifically, Paper II reveals that understanding these aspects in relation to the type of change can yield not only increased performance, but also, and more importantly, increased robustness to both fast and slow changes in resource dynamics. However, when resource dynamics include the possibility of a more fundamental shift in system characteristics (a regime shift), LBD is problematic due to the potential for crossing a threshold, resulting in possible persistent reductions in harvests (Paper I). In Paper III, results indicate that cooperative forms of self-governance are more likely to establish and persist in communities where fishers’ have prior cooperative experience, fishers’ trustworthiness is more or less equal, and that this likelihood increases when resource availability fluctuates seasonally. Finally, to achieve a transformation toward more cooperative forms of self-governance, interventions are required that can strengthen both financial capital and trust among the members of the cooperatives (Paper IV). The unique contribution of this thesis lies in the method for ‘quantitatively’ studying LBD, the stylized model of a small-scale fishery, and the analysis of the two models to advance our understanding of processes of learning and self-governance in uncertain and variable social-ecological environments. Together, the results shed light on how social and ecological factors and processes co-evolve to shape social-ecological outcomes, as well as contributing to the development of novel methods within the emerging field of sustainability science. / I vårt antropocena tidevarv är ett långsiktigt förvaltarskap av naturresurser inom social-ekologiska system av yttersta vikt. Detta kräver en djup förståelse av människan, ekologin, interaktionerna sinsemellan och deras utveckling över tid. Syftet med denna avhandling är att nå en djupare och mer nyanserad förståelse kring två av grundpelarna inom forskningen av hållbar förvaltning av naturresurser–kontinuerligt lärande genom learning-by-doing (LBD) för att förstå naturresursens dynamik, samt vad som kan kallas socialt kapital, i detta sammanhang i betydelsen tillit mellan individer, som naturligtvis ligger till grund för framgångsrik gemensam förvaltning. Denna föresats operationaliseras genom att använda två olika simuleringsmodeller. Den ena modellen undersöker hur en hållbar förvaltning av en förnyelsebar resurs, i denna avhandling exemplifierad av en fiskepopulation, kan uppnås genom LBD. Den andra modellen söker blottlägga det komplexa sociala samspel som krävs för att praktisera gemensam förvaltning genom att använda ett fiskesamhälle som fallstudie. Tidigare forskning på båda dessa två områden är relativt omfattade. Emellertid har den forskning som specialiserat sig på LBD i huvudsak inskränkt sig till empiriska fallstudier. Vad som bryter ny mark i denna avhandling är att vi konstruerar en simuleringsmodell av LBD där vi kan studera lärandeprocessen i detalj för att uppnå en mer hållbar förvaltning över tid. Beträffande modellen som behandlar socialt kapital så har tidigare forskning fokuserat på hur en organisation, eller grupp, kan uppnå hållbar förvaltning. Dock saknas ett helhetsgrepp där som tar hänsyn till alla nivåer; från individnivå (mikro), via gruppnivå (meso), till samhällsnivå (makro). Detta är något som denna avhandling försöker avhjälpa genom att undersöka betydelsen av individers egenskaper, uppbyggnaden av socialt kapital, samt hur detta påverkar emergens av ett samhälle dominerat av mer kooperativa förvaltningsformer respektive mer hierarkiska diton. I papper I and II studeras kärnan av LBD som återkoppling mellan en aktör och en resurs, där aktören lär sig genom upprepade interaktioner med en resurs.  Resultaten visar att LBD är av avgörande betydelse för en hållbar förvaltning, speciellt då naturresursens dynamik är stadd i förändring. I den mest hållbara strategin bör aktören värdera nuvarande och framtida fångster lika högt, försiktigt experimentera kring vad aktören upplever som bästa strategi, för att sedan anpassa sin mentala modell till upplevda förändringar i fångst relativt dess insats någorlunda kraftigt. I papper III och IV behandlas uppbyggnaden av förtroende mellan individer och grupp, samt själv-organiserat styre. Genom att använda småskaligt fiske i Mexiko som en illustrativ fallstudie, utvecklades en agent-baserad modell av ett arketypiskt småskaligt fiskesamhälle. Resultaten indikerar att kooperativa förvaltningsformer är mer dominanta i samhällen där de som utför fisket har liknande pålitlighet, starkt gemensamt socialt kapital vid kooperativets start, och då resursen fluktuerar säsongsmässigt (papper III). Papper IV visar att för att uppnå en transformation från hierarkiska förvaltningsformer till kooperativa diton krävs interventioner som inriktar sig på både socialt och finansiellt kapital. Denna avhandling bidrar således till en djupare förståelse kring hur socialt kapital växer fram, samt hur mer strategiska LBD processer bör utformas när abrupta och osäkra förändringar i ekosystemen blir allt vanligare på grund av människans ökade tryck på planeten. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Submitted. Paper 3: Submitted. Paper 4: Manuscript.</p>

[pt] A natureza de certos sistemas de software determina que estes tenham de executar de maneira ininterrupta. Por outro lado, diversos sistemas de software são constantemente sujeitos a mudanças, por questões que incluem, mas não se limitam a, infraestrutura, correções de falhas, adição de funcionalidades e mudanças na lógica de domínio. Evolução dinâmica de software consiste em alterar aplicações durante a sua execução sem interrompê-las, mantendo-as disponíveis mesmo durante a aplicação destas modificações. Sistemas distribuídos baseados em componentes permitem decompor o software em entidades claramente separadas. Nesses casos, a evolução pode ser resumida a remoção, adição e modificação de tais entidades, e se tais atividades podem ser exercidas enquanto a aplicação está em execução, tem-se evolução dinâmica de software. Através disso, neste trabalho foi criada uma abordagem em que é possível se manipular arquiteturas distribuídas desenvolvidas sobre o middleware SCS de maneira a se minimizar a interrupção de partes do sistema enquanto certas adaptações são implantadas. Aplicamos o mecanismo em um sistema distribuído já consolidado, o CAS, que consiste em uma infraestrutura de gravação extensível com suporte a captura e acesso automáticos de mídias distribuídas. / [en] The nature of some software systems determine that they run without interruption. Furthermore, many software systems are constantly subject to change for reasons that include, but are not limited to, infrastructure changes, bug fixes, addition of functionalities, and changes in the domain logic. Dynamic software evolution consists into changing application during execution without stopping them, keeping them available even when applying these modifications. Component-based distributed systems allows decomposing software into clearly separated entities. In such cases, evolution can be summarized to removal, addition and modification of such entities, and if such activities can be performed while the application is executing, dynamic adaptation is achieved. In this work, we ve investigated an approach that aims to allow manipulation of distributed software architectures developed over the SCS middleware, in order to minimize system disruption while certain adaptations are deployed. The mechanism was tested in an already consolidated distributed system, the CAS, which consists of an extensible recording infrastructure that supports automatic capture and access of distributed medias.

As características e conceitos dos sistemas complexos adaptativos (SCA) e a dinâmica de sistemas podem ser utilizados como ferramentas altamente efetivas para analisar a organização de um sistema de saúde. Várias das propriedades dos SCA são relevantes para este propósito especialmente a emergência de padrões auto-organizativos. Os objetivos são descrever os fluxos intermunicipais de gestantes para a resolução da gravidez visando compreender os fatores que influenciam estes deslocamentos considerando os recursos hierárquicos disponíveis e propor modelos explicativos da regionalização ao cuidado ligado à gravidez e ao parto e à regulação do sistema. Esta pesquisa aplicou conceitos de sistemas complexos adaptativos para estudo dos fluxos de gestantes entre municípios no sistema de atenção ao parto e puerpério na região de Ribeirão Preto- São Paulo determinando as áreas de captação de pacientes e fatores que influenciam deslocamentos. Para isto foram construídas matrizes de origem-destino das gestantes que tiveram a resolução da gravidez na área do Departamento Regional de Saúde XIII (DRS XIII) sediado em Ribeirão Preto no ano de 2012. Foram utilizadas ferramentas ligadas ao fluxo de altas disponíveis no Observatório Regional de Atenção Hospitalar, aplicando modelos de interação espacial e análise de redes para determinar a suficiência das regiões e sub-regiões para a realização dos procedimentos selecionados e explorar os fatores determinantes dos deslocamentos de pacientes. Em 2012, os hospitais de Ribeirão Preto (sede da DRS XIII) receberam 3807 internações por parto de fora do município, das quais 597 foram provenientes de 114 municípios fora da jurisdição do DRS XIII. Observou-se que 25 % das pacientes se deslocaram a outro município para a resolução da gravidez, percorrendo uma distancia média ponderada de 27 km. Os fluxos de pacientes mostram uma alta concentração em Ribeirão Preto e Sertãozinho, embora grande parte dos casos derivados não requeriam serviços de alta complexidade. O DRS XIIII é suficiente como região para a resolução destes casos e se comporta como um importador de pacientes de uma região mais ampla que compreende ao menos 60 municípios. Vários municípios do DRS XIII também têm serviços suficientes para as necessidades de sua população. O sistema de regulação do estado e do DRS XIII e as preferências dos pacientes, famílias e médicos são determinantes mais importantes dos fluxos que as distancias geográficas. A evolução da demografia e epidemiologia, da geografia política e organizacional do SUS, da oferta de serviços e os comportamentos e preferências dos agentes (usuários, médicos e outros) devem ser analisadas em conjunto como sistemas dinâmicos para compreensão dos fluxos de pacientes e assim reformular as redes de serviços para responder melhor às necessidades da assistência materna e puerperal na região coberta pelo DRS III. / The characteristics and concepts of complex adaptive systems (CAS) and system dynamics can be used as highly effective tools to analyze the organization of a health system. Several of the properties of an CAS are relevant to this purpose, especially the emergence of self-organizing patterns. Objectives: To describe the intermunicipal flows of pregnant women at the end of the pregnancy, in order to understand the factors that influence these displacements considering the available hierarchical resources and propose explanatory models of the regionalization of care related to pregnancy, delivery and regulation of the system. This research applied concepts of complex adaptive systems to study the flows of pregnant women among municipalities in the maternal care system in the Ribeirão Preto - São Paulo region, determining the catchment areas of patients and analyzing the factors that influence their displacement. For this purpose, the research gathered origin-destination matrices of the pregnant women who had the pregnancy resolution in the area of the Regional Health Department XIII (DRS XIII), based in Ribeirão Preto, for the year 2012. The tools used for these matrices were built in the discharge-flow utility available at the Hospital Regional Observatory webpage. Using spatial interaction models and network analysis it was possible to determine the sufficiency of regions and sub-regions to perform the selected procedures and to explore the determinants of patient travel. In 2012, maternity hospitals in Ribeirão Preto (headquarters of DRS XIII) received 3807 hospitalizations related to deliveries coming from outside the municipality, of which 597 came from 114 municipalities outside the jurisdiction of DRS XIII. It was observed that 25% of the patients moved to another municipality for the events related to the end of the pregnancy, traveling a weighted average distance of 27 km. Patient flows show a high concentration in Ribeirão Preto and Sertãozinho, although a majority of the derived cases did not require services of high complexity. DRS XIIII is sufficient as a region to resolve these cases and behaves as an net importer of patients from a wider region comprising at least 60 municipalities. Several municipalities of DRS XIII also have sufficient services for the needs of their population. The system of regulation of the state and DRS XIII and the preferences of patients, families and doctors are more important determinants of flows than geographical distances. The evolution of demography and epidemiology, the political and organizational geography of the SUS, the service offerings and the behaviors and preferences of the agents (users, doctors and others) should be analyzed together as dynamic systems for understanding patient flows allowing to redesign the service networks to better respond to the needs of maternal and child care in the region covered by DRS XIII.