Thesis (Ph. D)--Bonn Univ., 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 154-157).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 246-276). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Supervisor: Ronald Wyllys. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

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

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2003. / Title from title page screen (viewed Sept. 26, 2003). Thesis advisor: Edward L. Counts, Jr. Document formatted into pages (xiv, 150 p. : ill. (some col.)). Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-116).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Supervisor: Kenneth A. Lawson. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available from UMI.

No description available.

This dissertation consists of three papers on the theme of technological capabilities. Patent information can be viewed as indicators of inventive activities emanating from a certain underlying technological capability. Cumulative patents may, therefore, be considered as the r&barbelow;evealed manifestations of those t&barbelow;echnological c&barbelow;apabilities (hereafter abbreviated as RTC) Patent databases have stored a wealth of publicly-held and verified knowledge. Each of the papers in this thesis takes-up the challenge of examining some particular aspects of RTC based on patents; and will advance our knowledge of the subject modestly in a different direction, by taking advantage of invaluable competitive information contained in patent databases. In the sense of data-mining into knowledge, we formulate and introduce a series of concepts, measurements and a methodology under the title of " patent calculation" in the first paper to mine this invaluable information. We apply this methodology, with multiple indicators, to detect the existence of technological capabilities and examine it in relation to the pattern of global collaboration in patented inventions. In the second paper we study the over time, patterns of technological capabilities in a number of countries in relation to their market and industrial structure. In the third paper we search for' potential patterns of selective concentration and specialization in the patent-intensive industries of newly industrializing countries by using the index of revealed technological advantage (RTA), which has been used as the conventional indicator in advanced countries since 1960s in technology-oriented studies. We also examine if the inherent complexities of this measure impacts the remits. In summary, we develop concepts, measures and tools, in the three essays, to take advantage of patent information to characterize the patterns of revealed technological capabilities and its variations in relation to collabor

Information modeling is the cornerstone of information systems analysis and design. Information models not only provide the abstractions required to facilitate communication between designers and end users, they also provide a formal basis for tools and techniques used in developing and using information systems. This dissertation reports on four empirical studies in information modeling. The four studies focus on an important, yet controversial, construct in information modeling — the relationship construct. The theoretical foundation for the four experimental studies comprises theories and findings from the information systems, cognitive psychology, computer science, philosophy, and communication literature. Because of the paucity of empirical research in the area, a two-stage research design, consisting of the exploratory and formalized phases, is employed in this dissertation. Two studies were conducted in the exploratory phase. The first exploratory study investigated the effect of domain familiarity on selection of mandatory or optional connectivity for the relationship construct by modeling experts. The findings indicate that modeling experts tend to choose optional over mandatory relationships, even for domains that are totally unfamiliar to them. The second exploratory study analyzed the effect of conflicting textual information and structural constraints on selection of mandatory or optional connectivity by modeling experts. The results show that modeling experts tend to focus on the information depicted by the structural constraints and ignore the textual information. This exploratory phase allowed us to explore and develop empirical research methods and instruments for studying the relationship construct in information modeling. In the second phase, two formalized studies were conducted. The first formalized study investigated the differences between modeling experts and novices in their interpretation of information models. The results show significant differences in the way modeling experts and novices interpret information models. Modeling experts focus mainly on the structural constraints and de-emphasize the textual information. Modeling novices, on the other hand, pay more attention to the textual information than modeling experts. The second formalized study examined the effect of different representations of relationship on the interpretation of information models by modeling novices. The findings indicate that the explicitness of relationship construct and the use of verb versus noun description for relationship have a profound impact on the accuracy of interpretation. The best combination is one that uses an explicit relationship construct and verb for relationship description. The worst combination is one where the relationship construct is represented implicitly and described using noun.

No description available.