Most neural network learning algorithms cannot use knowledge other than what is provided in the training data. Initialized using random weights, they cannot use prior knowledge such as knowledge stored in previously trained networks. This manuscript thesis addresses this problem.…

Honda of America has developed a comprehensive approach to teaching the principles of lean
production to its suppliers. The centerpiece of these efforts is a program called BP (for "Best process",
"Best Performance", "Bs Practice"), in which a crossfunctional team…

The São Francisco River basin in Brazil is marked by socio-economic disparities and environrnental vulnerabilities. Water managers in the semi-arid region of the basin are faced with several challenges, such as competition among different water user groups, local over-exploitation of…

Cultural resources like traditional medicinal knowledge need to be recognized in their role tied to important regional practices in Zimbabwe. This is especially as a nexus of legal definitions for biological, intellectual and cultural resources will inform a National Sui…

This dissertation addresses the issues pertaining to composite products (CPs). CPs are defined as products formed by combining knowledge from two distinct domains, for example, digital cameras, which combine knowledge from digital products and cameras. The three research questions addressed…

An important form of transmission of knowledge about the Spanish nation is based on the continuous telling of stories in which the nation features as a suprahistorical, perennial entity. Myths of national origin, golden-age legends, and epics of national heroes…

This thesis is a theoretical and practical investigation of the role played by informal learning and teaching in the development of identity and applied knowledge. With the advent of mass schooling, there came to be a distinction between formal and…

Searching for information pervades a wide spectrum of human activity, including learning and problem solving. With recent changes in the amount of information available and the variety of means of retrieval, there is even more need to understand why some…

In this thesis, I investigate the nature of geometric knowledge and its relationship to spatial intuition. My goal is to rehabilitate the Kantian view that Euclid's geometry is a mathematical practice, which is grounded in spatial intuition, yet, nevertheless, yields…

This thesis sets out to show that a philosophical reflection on history is, in the strongest possible way, an essential feature of Hume's project of a science of human nature: a philosophical investigation of human nature, for Hume, cannot be…