This thesis is based on the premise that small nations face unique challenges in the quest for economic prosperity. They have a small domestic economy and are more dependent than larger economies on international trade. Smallness typically entails a lack…

In recent years we have seen a confluence of science and technology that portends great impact to business strategy and product development. Just as physicists, chemists and biologists have extended their knowledge to other fields in pursuit of their own…

If we are to understand human-level intelligence, we need to understand how meanings can be learned without explicit instruction. I take a step toward that understanding by focusing on the symbol-grounding problem, showing how symbols can emerge from a system…

In the search for meaning, the architectural profession legitimately seeks culture to sanction its products. However, in business organizations, culture is complex and tacit- richer and deeper than any of its external manifestations, including architecture. To compensate for culture's incoherence,…

Current methods for bipedal walking control include playback of recorded joint motion and the derivation of dynamic equations to map desired forces at the body to the required torques at the joints. Both methods require a significant amount of up-front…

The objective of the experiments described in this thesis is to perform a detailed spectroscopic study of the dynamics on the A and X state surfaces of 13C2H2 in order to further understand the acetylene - vinylidene isomerization process in…

(cont.) visualize complex geometric arrangements. Finally, the tools developed represent an alternative to what learning technology has always done; transmit academic knowledge to the student. These tools are an example of how IT can be used to go beyond the…

The general objective of this thesis is the development of an adaptive technique for extracting knowledge in large databases. Nowadays, technology allows storing huge volumes of information. For this reason, the availability of techniques that allow, as a first stage,…

Freud's theory of jokes explains how they overcome the mental "censors" that make it hard for us to think "forbidden" thoughts. But his theory did not work so well for humorous nonsense as for other comical subjects. In this essay…

We develop a theory to explain the transition from stagnation to modern growth. We focus on the forces that shaped the evolution of total factor productivity in agriculture and manufacturing across history. More specifically, we build a multisector model of…