Thesis (M.S.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2009. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2004. / Title from title screen (viewed Aug. 16, 2004). "June 2004." Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-56). Also issued in paper format.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 149-162). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 149-162). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S. in Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2006. / Thesis Advisor(s): Nayantara D. Hensel, Kathryn M. Kocher. "March 2006." Includes bibliographical references (p. 103-104). Also available online.

M.Ing. / The topic of this research project is 'Assessment of value added to engineering projects'. In this dissertation the aim is to introduce the reader to the methodologies, which can be used to add value to engineering projects. Engineering has to do with the application of science in solving problems, while technology is the study or use of the mechanical arts or applied sciences. The author saw it fitting to combine value engineering principles, systems engineering, business process re-engineering, technology scanning and innovation technology management principles to base this dissertation on the research of the combined principles. The intention of this research is not to replace the current project management or processes on how to manage and create value in engineering projects. The research merely identifies an issue and proposes a process as an addition to the current processes rectifying this 'lack of value' issue.

A general eigen-value buckling solution is developed for the buckling of long thick pipes subjected to internal and external hydrostatic pressure. The principle of stationary potential energy is used to formulate the conditions of equilibrium, neutral stability conditions, and associated boundary conditions using polar coordinates. The formulation accounts for shear deformation effects and is suited for composite pipe systems with thick cores. It involves destabilizing terms: one is due to the external hydrostatic pressure and incorporates the follower effects, and the other, is due to the pre-bucking stresses undergoing the nonlinear components of strains. The formulation adopts a work conjugate triplet consisting the Cauchy stress tensor, the Green Lagrange strain tensor, and constant constitutive relations. A Fourier series expansion of the displacement fields is adopted to transform the 2D problem into a series of independent 1D problems, thus keeping the computational effort to a minimum while preserving the accuracy of the solution. Two numerical solutions were developed and implemented under MATLAB; the first one is based on the finite difference technique and the second one is based on the finite element solution. Both solutions were shown to converge to the same solution, the finite difference from below, while the finite element converges from above. The finite element solution is then applied to predict the buckling capacity of sandwich pipes consisting of two steel pipes with a soft core. A comprehensive verification study is conducted and the validity of the formulation was established through comparison with other solutions. A parametric study is then conducted to investigate the effect of hydrostatic internal pressure, core material, core thickness, and internal and external pipe thicknesses, on the external buckling pressure of sandwich pipes.

The focus of this study is on the application of cost-benefit analysis as a methodological technique for evaluating alternatives in the urban planning process. It is hypothesized that cost-benefit analysis, by identifying the effects and the incidence of various courses of action, provides a basis for objective evaluation of alternative plans. It is assumed that cost-benefit analysis, an economics tool, is a framework within which the various effects can be considered comprehensively. The method of study is primarily a critical review of the literature. Within the available time and resources, an attempt is made to apply the cost-benefit techniques to selected areas in the City of Vancouver. Because of the magnitude of the problem involved in the collection of considerable data, most of which is apparently unavailable in a readily applicable form, evidence for the verification of the hypothesis is largely drawn from the critical evaluation of the literature. The study first focusses on the general concept of cost-benefit analysis, as it appears to be traditionally applied, in a broad perspective of various methodological techniques of plan evaluation. A review of the cost-benefit techniques advanced by Nathaniel Lichfield, Jerome Rothenberg and James CT. Mao reveals the fact that there is a difference in their basic approach to urban development. Lichfield's "balance sheet" traces the effects of development in relation to the various sectors involved in the development process. Mao suggests that the repercussions be traced in relation to the basic objective of the project. Rothenberg is primarily concerned with the distribution of income among the relevant populations involved in the process of development. The authors point out the limitations of their techniques. There are many intangible and non-measurable items which are not treated by the authors. There is also the question of whether these tools are valid for evaluating urban plans. Though adequate data are not available to fully employ the above cost-benefit techniques, the limitations of the case studies, partly imposed by the theoretical formulation of these techniques lead to questions about the operational validity of these tools in evaluating the implications of these policies in the study areas. The study results reveal the practical problems encountered in obtaining comparable data, particularly on property value, social costs of slum living, and municipal expenditure and revenues for such small areas. A specific methodology needs to be developed for each to take these items into account. The problem of isolating certain effects and ascribing them to the redevelopment policy in the study areas is a critical one. Thus no valid conclusion with regard to the verification of the hypothesis can be drawn in the light of the case studies. It is concluded that the traditional concepts of "costs" and ""benefits" are not applicable in evaluating alternative urban plans and that cost-benefit analysis requires a broad interpretation as a framework within which the implications of a plan can be considered comprehensively and objectively in relation to the defined goals and objectives. The formulation of goals and objectives, it is evident, is an integral part of the analytical techniques. There are many intangible and non-measurable aspects which can not be treated adequately within the cost-benefit framework. However, one of the advantages of cost-benefit analysis is that the planners and the decision-makers may both become acquainted in greater detail with the trade-offs. Various other analytical methods lead to a more refined cost-benefit calculus for an objective evaluation of urban plans. It is important that the validity of methodological techniques should be judged not only by its operational aspects but also by its conceptual approach to achieve the goals of the urban planning process. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

D.Ing. / “Innovation is the act of introducing something new” (Byrd & Brown, 2003). When companies are competing on the technology “playground” they need to be innovative. By analysis according to Byrd & Brown (Byrd & Brown, 2003) the “act of introducing”, relates to risk taking, and the “new” relates to creativity, and therefore these concepts, creativity and risk taking, in combination, are what innovation is all about. Risk management has become one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century, and one of the main components in innovation and the technology driven industry, intensifying the need for a systematic approach to managing uncertainties. During the development and design of complex engineering products, the input and teamwork of multiple participants from various backgrounds are required resulting in complex interactions. Risk interactions exist between the functional and physical elements within such a system and its sub-systems in various dimensions such as spatial interaction, information interaction etc. The relationships are of a multi-dimensional complexity that cannot be simplified using the standard task management tools (Yassine A. A., 2004). To find a meaningful starting point for the seemingly boundless subject of risk management the research takes a step back into the basic definition of risk management and follows an exploratory research methodology to explore each of the risk management processes (risk assessment, risk identification, risk analysis, risk evaluation, risk treatment and risk monitoring and review) and how these processes can be enhanced using the design structure matrix (DSM) and fuzzy logic thinking. The approach to risk management within an organisation should be seen as a holistic approach similar to the total quality management process, providing the ii opportunity to incorporated risk management during the design process as a concurrent task. The risk management model is then developed concurrently (during the design phase) using product development methodologies such as conceptual modeling and prototyping, and ultimately the prototype is tested using a case study. Finally resulting in a clustered DSM providing a visual representation of the system risk areas similar to the methodology used in Finite Element Analysis (FEA). The research combines alternative system representation and analysis techniques (Warfield, 2005), in particular the design structure matrix, and fuzzy logic to quantify the risk management effort neccessary to deal with uncertain and imprecise interactions between system elements.

The thesis deals with searching of Statek Břežany company value as of 31.12. 2012. The introduction describes history of the company and its field of business. Financial analysis tests health of the company. Strategic analysis examines internal and external potential for growth in business. The goal of these analyses is to determine appropriate valuation method. Based on the valuation method the prediction of value generators is drawn up. Final valuation includes two different methods and values for comparison.