<div><div><div><p>Structural identification is a useful tool for detecting damage and damage evolution in a structure. The initiation of damage in a structure and its subsequent growth are mainly associated with nonlinear behaviors. While linear dynamics of a structure are easy to simulate, nonlinear structural dynamics have more complex dynamics and amplitude dependence that do require more sophisticated simulation tools and identification methods compared to linear systems. Additionally, there are generally many more parameters in nonlinear models and the responses may not be sensitive to all of them for all inputs. To develop model selection methods, an experiment is conducted that uses an existing device with repeatable behavior and having an expected model from the literature. In this case, an MR damper is selected as the experimental device. The objective of this research is to develop and demonstrate a method to select the most appropriate model from a set of identified stochastic models of a nonlinear device. The method is developed using numerical example of a common nonlinear system, and is then implemented on an experimental structural system with unknown nonlinear properties. Bayesian methods are used because they provide a distinct advantage over many other existing methods due to their ability to provide confidence on answers given the observed data and initial uncertainty. These methods generate a description of the parameters of the system given a set of observations. First, the selected model of the MR damper is simulated and used for demonstrating the results on a numerical example. Second, the model selection process is demonstrated on an experimental structure based on experimental data. This study explores the use of the Bayesian approach for nonlinear structural identification and identifies a number of lessons for others aiming to employ Bayesian inference.</p></div></div></div>

There are many methods for modelling the reliability of systems based on component failure data. This task becomes more complex as systems increase in size, or undertake missions that comprise multiple discrete modes of operation, or phases. Existing techniques require certain levels of expertise in the model generation and calculation processes, meaning that risk and reliability assessments of systems can often be expensive and time-consuming. This is exacerbated as system complexity increases. This thesis presents a novel method which generates reliability models for phasedmission systems, based on Petri nets, from simple input files. The process has been automated with a piece of software designed for engineers with little or no experience in the field of risk and reliability. The software can generate models for both repairable and non-repairable systems, allowing redundant components and maintenance cycles to be included in the model. Further, the software includes a simulator for the generated models. This allows a user with simple input files to perform automatic model generation and simulation with a single piece of software, yielding detailed failure data on components, phases, missions and the overall system. A system can also be simulated across multiple consecutive missions. To assess performance, the software is compared with an analytical approach and found to match within 5% in both the repairable and non-repairable cases. The software documented in this thesis could serve as an aid to engineers designing new systems to validate the reliability of the system. This would not require specialist consultants or additional software, ensuring that the analysis provides results in a timely and cost-effective manner.

3D point cloud processing has been a critical task due to the increasing demand of a variety of applications such as urban planning and management, as-built mapping of industrial sites, infrastructure monitoring, and road safety inspection. Point clouds are mainly acquired from two sources, laser scanning and optical imaging systems. However, the original point clouds usually do not provide explicit semantic information, and the collected data needs to undergo a sequence of processing steps to derive and extract the required information. Moreover, according to application requirements, the outcomes from the point cloud processing could be different. This dissertation presents two tiers of data processing. The first tier proposes an adaptive data processing framework to deal with multi-source and multi-platform point clouds. The second tier introduces two point clouds processing strategies targeting applications mainly from urban environments and transportation corridors.<div><br></div><div>For the first tier of data processing, the internal characteristics (e.g., noise level and local point density) of data should be considered first since point clouds might come from a variety of sources/platforms. The acquired point clouds may have a large number of points. Data processing (e.g., segmentation) of such large datasets is time-consuming. Hence, to attain high computational efficiency, this dissertation presents a down-sampling approach while considering the internal characteristics of data and maintaining the nature of the local surface. Moreover, point cloud segmentation is one of the essential steps in the initial data processing chain to derive the semantic information and model point clouds. Therefore, a multi-class simultaneous segmentation procedure is proposed to partition point cloud into planar, linear/cylindrical, and rough features. Since segmentation outcomes could suffer from some artifacts, a series of quality control procedures are introduced to evaluate and improve the quality of the results.<br></div><div><br></div><div>For the second tier of data processing, this dissertation focuses on two applications for high human activity areas, urban environments and transportation corridors. For urban environments, a new framework is introduced to generate digital building models with accurate right-angle, multi-orientation, and curved boundary from building hypotheses which are derived from the proposed segmentation approach. For transportation corridors, this dissertation presents an approach to derive accurate lane width estimates using point clouds acquired from a calibrated mobile mapping system. In summary, this dissertation provides two tiers of data processing. The first tier of data processing, adaptive down-sampling and segmentation, can be utilized for all kinds of point clouds. The second tier of data processing aims at digital building model generation and lane width estimation applications.<br></div>

Answer set programming (ASP) is a declarative approach to solving search problems. Logic programming constitutes the foundation of ASP. ASP is not a proof-theoretical approach where you get solutions by answer substitutions. Instead, the problem is represented by a logic program in such a way that models of the program according to the answer set semantics correspond to solutions of the problem. Answer set solvers (Smodels, Cmodels, Clasp, and Dlv) are used for finding answer sets of a given program. Although users can write programs with variables for convenience, current answer set solvers work on ground logic programs where there are no variables. The grounding step of ASP generates a propositional instance of a logic program with variables. It may generate a huge propositional instance and make the search process of answer set solvers more difficult. Model generation theorem provers (Paradox, Darwin, and FM-Darwin) have the capability of producing a model when the first-order input theory is satisfiable. This work proposes the use of model generation theorem provers as computational engines for ASP. The main motivation is to eliminate the grounding step of ASP completely or to perform it more intelligently using the model generation system. Additionally, regardless of grounding, model generation systems may display better performance than the current solvers. The proposed method can be seen as lifting SAT-based ASP, where SAT solvers are used to compute answer sets, to the first-order level for tight programs. A completion procedure which transforms a logic program to formulas of first-order logic is utilized. Besides completion, other transformations which are necessary for forming a firstorder theory suitable for model generation theorem provers are investigated. A system called Completor is implemented for handling all the necessary transformations. The empirical results demonstrate that the use of Completor and the theorem provers together can be an eective way of computing answer sets. Especially, the run time results of Paradox in the experiments has showed that using Completor and Paradox together is favorable compared to answer set solvers. This advantage has been more clearly observed for programs with large propositional instances, since grounding can be a bottleneck for such programs.

Neste trabalho é proposto um modelo para estimar a geração e a distribuição de viagens intraurbanas baseado em agentes, denominado Modelo GDA. Neste modelo foram aplicadas simulações em Sistemas Multiagentes (SMA), nas quais foram usadas, como dados de entrada, informações relativas ao morador e ao uso do solo. Na estimativa da geração de viagens, a simulação SMA foi usada para estimar uma população sintética baseada nas informações sociodemográficas dos moradores e para obter um plano de atividades associado a cada morador. Na estimativa da distribuição de viagens, a simulação SMA foi usada para obter uma matriz Origem-Destino (OD) com base no plano de atividades dos moradores e nos atributos do uso do solo. Para definir os critérios da distribuição de viagens, foram testadas teorias alternativas à força gravitacional, como a teoria das redes livres de escala e o conceito de path dependence. Foi feita uma aplicação do Modelo GDA na cidade de São Carlos (SP), cujos resultados estimados foram comparados aos resultados observados, provenientes da pesquisa Origem-Destino (OD), e aos resultados estimados obtidos pela aplicação de modelos gravitacionais nesta cidade. Os resultados mostraram que os resultados estimados obtidos pelo Modelo GDA são tão acurados quanto aos do modelo gravitacional. Conclui-se que o Modelo GDA, comparativamente ao modelo gravitacional, possui vantagens quanto à sua aplicabilidade, pois em vez de serem utilizados pelo modelo dados provenientes de pesquisas de tráfego, geralmente onerosos e de difícil aquisição; são empregados dados acerca do morador e do uso do solo, de fácil coleta e atualização periódica. / In this work, an agent-based model in order to estimate trip generation and trip distribution in an intra-urban context (GDA model) is proposed. Simulations using Multiagent Systems (MAS), with input data concerning dwellers and land use were applied in this model. To estimate the trip generation, the MAS simulation was used to elaborate a synthetic population based on sociodemographic information of the dwellers and to obtain an activity plan of each dweller. To estimate the trip distribution, the MAS simulation was used to obtain an Origin-Destiny (OD) matrix based on the dwellers activity plans and the land use characteristics. To define the trip distribution rules, alternative theories to gravitational force like free scale networks and path dependence theories were tested. The GDA model was applied in the urban area of São Carlos (Brazil), whose estimates was compared to the observed data from the OD survey and the estimate data from the Gravity model applied in this same area. The results showed that the estimates from the GDA Model are as accurate as from the Gravity Model. It was observed that the GDA Model presents advantages in relation to the Gravity Model because instead of using traffic survey data, which often is expensive and difficult to get, it uses dwellers and land use information, which is periodically collected from government researches, making it easy for government agencies to obtain this information.

Disposer de données dans le but de valider ou tester une approche ou un concept est d'une importance primordiale dans beaucoup de domaines différents. Malheureusement, ces données ne sont pas toujours disponibles, sont coûteuses à obtenir, ou bien ne répondent pas à certaines exigences de qualité ce qui les rend inutiles dans certains cas de figure.Un générateur automatique de données est un bon moyen pour obtenir facilement et rapidement des données valides, de différentes tailles, pertinentes et diversifiées. Dans cette thèse, nous proposons une nouvelle approche complète, dirigée par les modèles et basée sur la programmation par contraintes pour la génération de données. / Owning data is useful in many different fields. Data can be used to test and to validate approaches, algorithms and concepts. Unfortunately, data is rarely available, is cost to obtain, or is not adapted to most of cases due to a lack of quality.An automated data generator is a good way to generate quickly and easily data that are valid, in different sizes, likelihood and diverse.In this thesis, we propose a novel and complete model driven approach, based on constraint programming for automated data generation.

Submitted by Vanessa Nunes (vnunes@unisinos.br) on 2015-03-26T18:01:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 LeticiaChemale.pdf: 14450426 bytes, checksum: 17412d5f1261ee67ef3a6f549e5bc364 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T18:01:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LeticiaChemale.pdf: 14450426 bytes, checksum: 17412d5f1261ee67ef3a6f549e5bc364 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-07-31 / Nenhuma / O setor da saúde, no Brasil - vital para o desenvolvimento do país - tem se modificado drasticamente, nos últimos anos. Com as novas tecnologias, os novos conhecimentos médicos e o maior poder aquisitivo da população, a competição na área se tornou cada vez mais acirrada. O segmento de diagnóstico por imagem se caracteriza, em Porto Alegre/RS, pela concorrência entre clínicas particulares, muitas vezes, administradas por médicos ou por gestão familiar. A briga por uma fatia maior das clínicas particulares compete diretamente com grandes corporações hospitalares, o que contribui para a gestão profissional do setor, em que as empresas buscam a estratégia como uma ferramenta sustentável, para criar valor entre seus clientes. Esta dissertação tem por objetivo propor a elaboração de um modelo de gestão estratégica para a Clínica de Diagnóstico por Imagem Irradial. Inicialmente, foram realizadas quatro etapas, na empresa, por meio da pesquisa-ação. A primeira e segunda buscaram identificar e explicitar o cenário a que empresa estava inserida. Com este objetivo cumprido, através de seminários e de workshops com os diretores, foi possível esclarecer a visão e analisar a estratégia da empresa. A terceira etapa da pesquisa tinha por objetivo reconhecer as expectativas e as demandas dos stakeholders da empresa. Através do grupo de foco, com alguns médicos, clientes, funcionários e diretores, identificaram-se os fundamentos da cocriação de valor e formulou-se a estratégia da empresa, utilizando o Business Model. Em um segundo momento, ainda da terceira etapa, foi aplicado aos diretores um questionário semiestruturado, para a verificação da possibilidade de viabilizar a estratégia formulada,de acordo com os recursos reais da empresa. A quarta etapa visou definir um conjunto estruturado de objetivos e de indicadores interligados na relação causa-efeito e as perspectivas do balanced scorecard, que contemplassem a estratégia sugerida. Por meio de workshops e de seminários com os diretores, traduziu-se a estratégia definida, através de objetivos e de indicadores, nas perspectivas do balanced scorecard. A partir do resultado de cada etapa, utilizando-se um conjunto de ferramentas tradicionais e já conhecidas pelas empresas - que propiciam e privilegiam os processos de inovação de valor - propôs-se o mapa estratégico da Irradial, que configura a estratégia escolhida pela empresa e a desdobra a todos os envolvidos, sustentando uma vantagem competitiva que a empresa busca, para atuar, no mercado. / The health sector in Brazil - vital to the country’s development – has changed drastically over the past few years. Due to new technologies, new and improved medical knowledge and greater buying power of the population, completion has become increasingly fierce. The image diagnosis segment is characterized in Porto Alegre/RS by the competition among private clinics, many times managed by doctors or family enterprises. The struggle for a bigger market share by the private clinics competes directly with large hospital corporations, which contributes to professional management in the sector, and companies look for strategies as sustainable tools to create value among their clients. The objective of this dissertation is to propose the development of a strategic management model for theClínica de Diagnóstico por Imagem Irradial. Initially four steps were taken within the company through survey-action. The first and second steps attempted to identify and demonstrate the scenario in which the company was a part of. After fulfilling such goal, by having seminars and workshops with the directors, it was possible to clarify the vision and analyze the company's strategy. The third step of the survey had the intention to establish the expectations and demands of all company’s stakeholders. Through a focus group with some doctors, clients, employees and directors it was possible to identify the fundamental value co-creation and the company’s strategy was formulated, utilizing the Business Model. Later on, still during the third step, a semi-structured questionnaire was applied to the directors in order to check the possibility of making the formulated strategy viable based on the actual resources of company. The fourth step aimed to define a structured set of goals and indicators interconnected in the cause-effect relation, as well as the perspectives of the balanced scorecard, to contemplate the suggested strategy. Through workshops and seminars with the directors the defined strategy was translated based on goals and indicators in the perspective of the balanced scorecard. From the result in each step, by utilizing a set of traditional tools already known by the companies – which provide and privilege the innovative processes of value – Irradial’s strategic map was proposed, which sets the strategy chosen by the company and is applied to all involved, giving the competitive edge that the company seeks to act in the marketplace.

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-07-09T17:28:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Max Roberto da Silva.pdf: 2364743 bytes, checksum: 3abbb691b2fc1672d72997a62b8d9213 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-09T17:28:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Max Roberto da Silva.pdf: 2364743 bytes, checksum: 3abbb691b2fc1672d72997a62b8d9213 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-01-31 / Nenhuma / O segmento de transporte rodoviário de cargas se caracteriza pela competição acirrada, devido ao excesso de oferta de transportadores, ocasionada pelas baixas barreiras de entrada, fatores que contribuem para que as empresas do setor tenham uma baixa rentabilidade. Esta dissertação de mestrado tem por objetivo propor um quadro referencial no processo de planejamento e gestão estratégica para utilização por empresas do segmento de transporte rodoviário de cargas. Inicialmente, foram realizadas entrevistas com profissionais de empresas do setor para identificar as ferramentas de gestão e planejamento estratégico que essas empresas utilizam. Após, buscou-se identificar as características do setor com o objetivo de verificar ferramentas de gestão e planejamento estratégico que possuem maior aderência ao setor para a composição do quadro referencial. Analisando-se as ferramentas utilizadas pelas empresas pesquisadas, observou-se que essas empresas utilizam ferramentas tradicionais e consolidadas de gestão e planejamento estratégico, que não privilegiam a busca pela inovação de valor em suas propostas. Com a análise realizada nas empresas pesquisadas do setor, identificou-se a importância da utilização no processo de gestão e planejamento estratégico de ferramentas que propiciem inovação em seus modelos de negócios para que as empresas consigam diferenciar-se da concorrência na busca de novos mercados, de novas demandas e de novas ofertas de valor. A partir deste diagnóstico, utilizando-se um conjunto de ferramentas tradicionais e já conhecidas pelas empresas e de ferramentas que propiciam e privilegiam os processos de inovação de valor, propôs-se o quadro referencial de gestão e planejamento estratégico para empresas do segmento de transporte rodoviário de cargas. Este quadro referencial foi submetido a especialistas do setor e avaliado por esses em um processo de análise crítica, cujos resultados foram satisfatórios, reforçando a pertinência e validade do quadro referencial como elemento condutor para a inovação de valor nas empresas do transporte rodoviário de cargas. / The road transportation segment is characterized by fierce competition due to oversupply of carriers caused by low entry barriers, factors that contribute for the companies operating in this sector to have low profitability. The objective of this master’s dissertation is to propose a benchmark in the planning process as well as the strategic management to be eventually utilized by cargo transportation companies. At first, interviews were conducted with the industry professionals to identify which management and strategic planning tools such companies utilize. Then we attempted to identify the characteristics of the sector in order to identify which management and strategic planning tools have greater adherence to the sector in order to create the benchmark. When such tools utilized by the interviewed companies were analyzed it was noted that the companies utilize traditional and consolidated management and strategic planning tools and do not look for value innovation in their environments. With such analysis we noticed the importance to utilize tools in the companies’ management and strategic planning processes that lead to innovation in their business models, in order for such companies to gain a differential in relation to their competition when searching for new markets, new demands and new value offers. From such diagnosis, by utilizing a traditional set of tools already utilized by most companies as well as new tools that provide and privilege the value innovation processes, a benchmark for management and strategic planning for companies in the road transportation sector was proposed. This benchmark was submitted to and evaluated by industry specialists in a review process, which results were satisfactory, reinforcing the relevance and validity of the benchmark as conductive frame of reference to value innovation in enterprises of road cargo transportation.

Funding is one of the most critical resources high potential technology startup (HPTS) ventures need to achieve success. Some startup founders lack access to capital, a critical resource for HPTS founders to create value for customers and capture value for their organizations. Capital constraints can hinder business performance, endanger growth and the ability to grow and scale into the global markets. This multiple case study explored the strategies HPTS firms used to access capital to grow and scale into global markets. Mishra's venture capital investment model and Blank's customer development model served as the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected from semistructured face-to-face interviews, direct observations, member checking, and a reflective journal. Participants were selected using a purposive sampling of 5 founders from the Silicon Valley of California, who were involved in equity finance decisions in the last 5 years. Yin's 5-step data analysis plan was used in the final data analysis. Eight themes emerged from the study: capital constraint; identification of potential investors; collaboration, guidance, and support; investment potential; investment thesis; measurement of success; passion and preparedness; and prevention of stock dilution. The findings of this study have implications for positive social change. HPTS ventures can use the study findings to gain approval of investment proposals and increase ventures that create value for customers and for the organizations.

Jedes Produkt hat eine Gebrauchstauglichkeit (Usability). Das umfasst auch Software,Webseiten und Apps auf mobilen Endgeräten und Fernsehern. Im heutigen Anbieterwettbewerb kann Usability ein entscheidender Faktor für den Erfolg eines Produktes sein. Dies gilt speziell für Software, da alternative Angebote meist schnell und einfach verfügbar sind. Daher sollte jede Softwareentwicklung Gebrauchstauglichkeit als eines ihrer Ziele definieren. Um dieses Ziel zu erreichen, wird beim Usability Engineering während der Entwicklung und der Nutzung eines Produkts kontinuierlich dessen Gebrauchstauglichkeit erfasst und verbessert. Hierfür existiert eine Reihe von Methoden, mit denen in allen Projektphasen entsprechende Probleme erkannt und gelöst werden können. Die meisten dieser Methoden sind jedoch nur manuell einsetzbar und daher kostspielig in der Anwendung.    Die vorliegende Arbeit beschreibt ein vollautomatisiertes Verfahren zur Bewertung der Usability von Software. Das Verfahren zählt zu den nutzerorientierten Methoden und kann für Feldstudien eingesetzt werden. In diesem Verfahren werden zunächst detailliert die Aktionen der Nutzer auf der Oberfläche einer Software aufgezeichnet. Aus diesen Aufzeichnungen berechnet das Verfahren ein Modell der Nutzeroberfläche sowie sogenannte Task-Bäume, welche ein Modell der Nutzung der Software sind. Die beiden Modelle bilden die Grundlage für eine anschließende Erkennung von 14 sogenannten Usability Smells. Diese definieren unerwartetes Nutzerverhalten, das auf ein Problem mit der Gebrauchstauglichkeit der Software hinweist. Das Ergebnis des Verfahrens sind detaillierte Beschreibungen zum Auftreten der Smells in den Task-Bäumen und den aufgezeichneten Nutzeraktionen. Dadurch wird ein Bezug zwischen den Aufgaben des Nutzers, den entsprechenden Problemen sowie ursächlichen Elementen der graphischen Oberfläche hergestellt.    Das Verfahren wird anhand von zwei Webseiten und einer Desktopanwendung validiert. Dabei wird zunächst die Repräsentativität der generierten Task-Bäume für das Nutzerverhalten überprüft. Anschließend werden Usability Smells erkannt und die Ergebnisse manuell analysiert sowie mit Ergebnissen aus der Anwendung etablierter Methoden des Usability Engineerings verglichen. Daraus ergeben sich unter anderem Bedingungen, die bei der Erkennung von Usability Smells erfüllt sein müssen.    Die drei Fallstudien, sowie die gesamte Arbeit zeigen, dass das vorgestellte Verfahren fähig ist, vollautomatisiert unterschiedlichste Usabilityprobleme zu erkennen. Dabei wird auch gezeigt, dass die Ergebnisse des Verfahrens genügend Details beinhalten, um ein gefundenes Problem genauer zu beschreiben und Anhaltspunkte für dessen Lösung zu liefern. Außerdem kann das Verfahren andere Methoden der Usabilityevaluation ergänzen und dabei sehr einfach auch im großen Umfang eingesetzt werden.