Regularities in the word give rise to regularities in the way which we deal with the world. That is to say, we fall into routines. I have been studying the phenomena of routinization, the process by which institutionalized patterns of interaction with the world arise and evolve in everyday life. Underlying this evolution is a dialectical process of internalization. First you build a model of some previously unarticulated emergent aspect of an existing routine. Armed with an incrementally more global view of interaction, you can often formulate an incrementally better informed plan of attack. A routine is not a plan in the sense of the classical planning literature, except in the theoretical limit of this process. I am implementing this theory using running arguments, a technique for writing rule-based programs for intelligent agents. Because a running argument is compiled into TMS networks as it proceeds, incremental changes in the world require only incremental recomputation of the reasoning about what actions to take next. The system supports a style of programming, dialectival argumentation that had many important properties that recommend it as a substrate for large AI systems. One of these might be called additivity: an agent can modify its reasoning in a class of situations by adducing arguments as to why its previous arguments were incorrect in those cases. Because no side-effects are ever required, reflexive systems based on dialectical argumentation ought to be less fragile than intuition and experience suggest. I outline the remaining implementation problems.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1984. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-72). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio State University, 1983. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-98). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1977. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

Throughout the process industry, the conservation and allocation of mass and energy resources plays a pivotal role in the site wide optimization of a plant. Typically, raw materials are transformed into products, byproducts and wastes through pathways involving heating/cooling, pressure changes, mixing, reactions and separations. These pathways often require the addition or removal of energy from the system. The optimal management of such a system therefore requires conserving resources through the appropriate allocation of materials and energy. In a typical plant, there are both mass and energy objectives that require optimization. This dissertation will focus on optimizing the mass and energy resources present in a utility system. This will entail developing a novel framework of techniques to: target and design steam cogeneration networks while minimizing fuel requirements, identifying and utilizing sources of waste heat and incorporating heat pipes to enhance heat exchange networks. Additionally, a specific case of waste recovery will be examined when properties are the primary concern.

Transitioning to the Agile style of software development has become an increasing phenomenon among software companies. The commonly perceived advantages of Agile, such as shortened time to market, improved efficiency, and reduced development waste are among key driving motivations of organizations to Agile. Each year a considerable number of empirical studies are being published, reporting on successful or unfavorable outcomes of enacting Agile in various organizations. Reusing this body of knowledge, and turning it into a concise and reachable source of information on Agile practices, can help many software organizations which are at the edge of transition to Agile, dealing with the uncertainties of such a decision. One of the early steps of transitioning to Agile (or any other process model) is to confirm the adaptability of new process with the current organization. Various Agile adoption frameworks have proposed different checklists to test the readiness of an organization for becoming Agile, or to identify the required adaptation criteria. Transitioning to Agile, as a significant organizational initiative, is a strategic decision, which should be made with respect to key objectives of the target organization. Having a reliable anticipation of how a new process model will impact the strategic objectives helps organizational managers to choose a process model, which brings optimum advantage to the organization. This thesis introduces a framework for evaluating new Agile practices (compartments of Agile methods) prior to their adoption in an organization. The framework has two distinguishing characteristics: first, it acts strategically, as it puts the strategic model of organization at the center of many decision makings that should be performed during Agile adoption; and second, it is based on a repository of Agile practices that allows the framework to benefit from the empirical knowledge of Agile methods, in order to improve the reliability of its outcomes. This repository has been populated through an extensive literature review of empirical studies on Agile methods. The framework was put in practice in an industrial case, at one of the R&D units of Ericsson Company in Italy. The target R&D unit was proposed with a number of Agile practices. The application of framework helped R&D unit managers to strategically decide on the new process proposal, by having a better understanding of its strategic shortcomings and strengths. A key portion of framework’s analysis results were evaluated one year after the R&D unit made the transition to Agile, showing that over 75% of pre-adoption analysis results came to reality after the enactment of new process into the organization.

The notion of seriality describes such relations where each element has a processor. It could be also understood as a condition of sequential translation and transfonnation. This thesis investi gates “seriality” in the relationship to architecture and landscape. I begin my investigation with a criticism of the conventional relationship between architecture and landscape. This relationship is often static and inert while it should be more dynamic and interactive within the design process. Reconsidering the relationship between “research” and “design,” my attempt to connect the two using algorithmic design was instrumental in formulating a new design process. In this thesis, a new design process has been developed and examined in three different sec tions: 1) “Theoretical Approach,” 2) “Technical Approach” and 3) “Case Study.” In the theoretical section, I investigate “rhythm,” which is an underlying series of movements affecting on architecture physically and fundamentally, in both architecture and landscape. In re sponse to this theory, I propose a method known as the “Genetic Grid” to manage grid flexibly by receiving its new identities from “natural conditions.” In the technical approach, I introduce methods in algorithmic design to manage grid flexibly. The basic method is called the ‘UVN generator’ which is based on the algorithmic process com bining the scripting potentiality and flexibility of traditional 3D surface modeling. This technique contributes to a method to generate the “Genetic Grid.” In the third section, I examine this “Genetic grid” more closely throughout a proposed design process called “Condition Linkage.” By embedding “Gene of Place” into architectural elements, I hope to show an underlying harmonious relationship between architecture and landscape.

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